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How we rate every event on the site

One number, 0–100, on every event and combo trip — the honest answer to "is this worth travelling for?" We don't pretend it's objective. Here's exactly where the score comes from, and what it can't tell you.

1,805events scored549combo trips0–100one scale4ways to get there

Fresh from the dataset — 13/09/2026 09:43 NZST

Where the scores land

1,805 events, five bands
80–100 · 11 events
60–79 · 307 events
40–59 · 963 events
20–39 · 491 events
0–19 · 33 events

The same number, different ladders

five bands, per family

A 60 in road and a 60 in conferences are not the same 60 — each family has its own curve and ceiling. These are the same five bands, split by family so the mix doesn't hide the story.

Road races698
Running + HYROX143
Conferences834
Spartan / DEKA / Ultra130

Most events earn a workmanlike score in the 40s–70s. Only a certified few — SuperHalfs-level half marathons, HYROX World Championships — clear 90. The very best and the also-rans sit on the same ruler, which is the only way a 0–100 scale stays honest.

The scores arrive through four pipelines, because the data behind each family is genuinely different. Same 0–100, different ingredients.

Measured on the clock

698 races

15–95 · mean 44

label + field + series + certified

Half marathons, marathons and 10Ks measured against official data: the World Athletics label, the strength of the field (Competition Performance Ranking), a SuperHalfs series bonus, and a trust bonus for AIMS membership / European Athletics 5-star / a Jones Counter-measured course. When a race clears 90 it's because the numbers actually put it there.

  • ▸WA label — Platinum 40 · Gold 32 · Elite 20 · Label 10 · IAU Gold 8
  • ▸Field strength — (CPR − 8900) ÷ 25, max +36
  • ▸SuperHalfs series +12 · certified course +6 or +4
Scoring today

Hand-picked, season-checked

143 events

running 10–38 · mean 17 · HYROX 22–95 · mean 41

These families keep their own curated tables, rebuilt each season against the AIMS member list and the World Athletics label pages, plus a judgment of venue scale for HYROX. There's no structured stats sheet to lean on — so we check the numbers by hand, season by season.

  • ▸WA Gold 32 · Elite 20 · Label 10
  • ▸AIMS membership +6
  • ▸HYROX — city + venue scale, capped regions lower
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Read the signals

964 events

conferences 30–75 · mean 53 · events 30–49 · mean 43

Conferences, Spartan, DEKA, ultras — no timing chips or label sheets to lean on, so the score is built from structured signals: a real entry page, a considered description, a registration fee, placement inside a combo itinerary. A properly built conference lands 65–75; a bare listing sinks to ~30. Specialty classification earns no bonus — the CPD value is the same whichever room you sit in.

  • ▸Conference: base 25 · combo +20 · description rich +20 / brief +12 / minimal +5
  • ▸Sport: prestige (hyrox 35 · ultra 25 · 10K 15 · 5K 10…) · medal +12 · scenery +10
  • ▸Caps: conferences 95 · events 92
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One trip, two scores

549 combos

39–82 · mean 59

0.6 × conference + 0.4 × best race

A combo pairs the conference you need with one or more races around the same few days. A naive sum would explode past 100 — a 95 race plus a 95 conference is 190, meaningless. So the conference is the anchor (that's the CPD reason you travel) and the strongest race the secondary draw; the extra legs add variety, never points. Everything stays on the scale.

  • ▸Conference 60% — the CPD anchor
  • ▸Best race 40% — the draw
  • ▸Extra races add legs, not points — max ≈ 94
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What the number can't tell you

A 95 race and a 75 conference are not the same quality — the math that got them there is different, so comparisons taste rough, not precise. And nothing on paper guarantees a great race day: aid stations, crowds, weather, the sound system at the venue. The rating is one informed signal; the event's own site is the second.

Want the point-by-point for a single event? Hover the rating chip on any event page for the formula, or click it for that event's full scoring note.

Sources

  • ▸World Athletics labels & Competition Performance Rankings — worldathletics.org
  • ▸AIMS membership — aims-worldrunning.org
  • ▸SuperHalfs series — superhalfs.com

WA labels and CPR change by season, so road-race scores are snapshots of the latest published calendar. Where a score is a manual judgment, the event's own rating note says so.

Ratings are editorial guidance for planning, not a guarantee of quality, race organisation, or certification status. Always check the event's own website before entering.