runbritain rankings frequently asked questions
We get lots of emails on similar topics at runbritain so we thought we’d try to cover some frequently asked questions:
Why is my race not listed?
We only include races with a UKA licence or TRA permit. You can find out which races are listed on www.runbritain.com/races or via http://www.tra-uk.org/race_directory.
If you are involved with organising a race and would like to find out more about gaining a licence and what’s needed take a look here: /race-directors-club
I have recently joined a club. When will my profile be active?
Registration with your home country governing body is completely separate. Anyone is welcome to open a runbritain account whether a member of a club or unattached by registering at http://www.runbritainrankings.com/
How is the SSS worked out?
The SSS is a difficulty score based on how easy or difficult it was to run a quick time in a given race. The harder it was to run a quick time, the higher the SSS score. The way it is worked out is by looking at people's times in a particular race and comparing it against their previous performances. As a very simplified example, if 100 people run in race A one weekend, and the same 100 run in race B over the same distance the next weekend, if, on average, the field is 60 seconds slower in race B than race A, there was clearly some factor (be it weather conditions, accuracy of course measurement, type of terrain, competitiveness of the field, how hilly the course was etc) which caused times to be slower. Therefore the SSS for race B will be higher than the SSS for race A.
Sometimes the system doesn’t have enough data to run the calculations properly – for example if there were only a small number taking part and only a few of them have profiles so we have limited access to previous performance data. In this situation the system gives a notional value of 1.0.
I have run some faster times in recent races but there are not included in my handicap counters. Why is this?
The vSSS gives a score for how people did in comparison to the rest of the field in that race on that day, the lower (more negative) this is - the better the performance. It is possible to run a slightly quicker time but on an easier day or course and have a slightly worse vSSS. So when considering handicap counting performances – these are the ones with a + next to them – vSSS scores also need to be viewed.
I haven’t raced for a while why is my handicap score getting worse?
There is a time decay built in so that the handicap score represents current racing form as opposed to how well people were running at some point previously. People have to regularly record performances which are as equally good as their top 5 to just stay at the same handicap.