How it Works
There are 8 Championship Series races in the year:
- Valentine’s 5K
- Cherry Pit 10 Mile Run
- Dawson’s Father’s Day 10K
- John Wall Memorial One Mile Track Run
- Dog Days 8K Cross Country Run
- Metric Marathon
- Downs Park 5 Miler
- Anniversary Run 15K
The races above are open to anyone and will each have their own overall race results published in the Races section of the website. However, members of the Annapolis Striders who run those races are also automatically included in the Championship Series scoring where they receive a separate age-group-based score for each race. Strider members are scored (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc) in relation to the other Strider members in their 5-year age group. Each race score is accumulated throughout the year and tallied into a member’s total score. Each age group is sorted from lowest to highest total score to determine overall ranking. Awards are given at the end of the year based on the number of qualified runners in each age group.
How to Participate:
Membership activation, race registration, and a race finish!
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- Club membership is required.
- Membership must be active before the first race of the season.
Join or renew online.
Note: Membership cannot be purchased at the Valentine’s 5K race.
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- Register for any or all of the Championship Series races.
- Individual race registration usually opens 4 – 8 weeks prior to each race.
Before the first race of the year, pre-registration for all 8 races is available.
Note: Pre-registration cannot be purchased at the Valentine’s 5K race.
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- Run!
- Finish at least one race to be included in the Championship Series standings.
Participation in every race is not required. However, to remain eligible for end-of-year awards, no more than 2 races can be missed.
Age Groups
Age groups start at “14 and Under” and then progress in 5-year increments.
Age group placement is based on each runner’s age as of January 1st and remains the same for the whole year.
14 and Under, 15 – 19
20 – 24, 25 – 29
30 – 34, 35 – 39
40 – 44, 45 – 49
50 – 54, 55 – 59
60 – 64, 65 – 69
70 – 74, 75 – 79
80 – 84, 85 – 89
90 – 94, 95 – 99
Awards
To remain eligible for end-of-year awards, a runner’s membership cannot lapse and the runner cannot miss more than 2 races. Awards are based on the final rankings as tabulated across all Championship Series races for the year.
The number of awards in an age group depends on the number eligible (qualified) participants in that age group:
Up to 6 qualifiers 3 awards
7 or 8 qualifiers 4 awards
9 or more qualifiers 5 awards
Duplicate awards are given for ties and don’t remove later places from the award sequence.
Runners who complete all Championship Series races receive an “IronMan” award.
Scoring
For simplicity, imagine that a runner gets the following scores for the 8 Champ Series races:
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Total = 36
Adding all of those scores together comes out to a total score of 36. However, to offer some leeway for vacations, family emergencies, race volunteering, etc., we allow leniency for 2 of the races. Each runner’s two highest scores are pulled from their total, added together, and placed to the right of the decimal point to provide the adjusted total:
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th = 21.15
The fractional portion of the total acts as a tie-breaker (although ties are still possible and allowed).
Using the example scores above, this is how the scoring would progress for this runner from the beginning of the year through the end of the year:
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 1 |
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 2 | 1.02 |
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1.05 |
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3.07 |
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6.09 |
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10.11 |
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 15.13 |
| Runner Name | 5K | 10M | 10K | 1M | 8K | MM | 5M | 15K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Doe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21.15 |
Remember: The runner’s two highest scores are dropped — whichever ones happen to be the two highest… in the examples above, they just happen to always be the last two races.
Additional Scoring Rules
Runners get a score of 49 for any missed series race.
To allow volunteers the opportunity to run, the race directors may organize a Workers Run.
Workers Run participants must run the same course as the actual race.
Per Board decision, Race Directors get credit for doing a Workers Run even if they don’t actually run it.
Workers Run participants are placed last in their age groups for the race. For example, if the highest race-day score in an age group is 15, all worker runners in that age group receive a score of 16.
Race Cancellations
Sometimes races are canceled due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
Canceled races are removed from the standings for the year and do not have an adverse impact on scoring.
Additional Notes
If you are excluded from a race (given a 49), check your membership status to ensure it has not lapsed. A member will be reinstated into the Champ Series if they renew within two weeks of expiration.
The 10M race for the Series is the Cherry Pit 10 Miler, not the Annapolis 10 Mile Run.
To avoid confusion, please use the same name for races that you used to join the club. Thanks!
For corrections or questions contact the Champ Series Coordinator.