She laughs at me......
There are a few runners way ahead of the yearly goal. It's possible they have a good reason, but remember there is a provision in the rules for admins to step in and change artificially low goals in extreme cases.
From the general info....
Also, we reserve the right to modify goals if it appears that a user has set or changed to an artificially low goal (sandbagging). This would only be done in extreme cases.
These are the current examples.
1 runner over 300% to target
5 runners between 200-300%
7 runners between 150-200% to goal
If you're not one of these runners, you're good. Right now we're watching to see if this keeps up.
#RunEveryDay
And should you think we are just picking on last week, look at the results from the previous weeks.
In Week 7:
Two runners were over 300% to individual goal
Two runners were over 200% to individual goal
In Week 6:
Two runners were over 200% to individual goal.
In Week 5:
Three runners over 200% to individual goal.
We know that training cycles create peaks in mileage. It happens. But in the past, so has sandbagging.
Half Fanatic #9292.
Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.
I believe it's one of the runners on MLC that has been consistently hitting that 200-300% of goal. She is a low mileage runner so it's not taking much to surpass a weekly goal of 5 mpw and go up to 12-15. (it's not like she's a 40mpw runner hitting 100 mpw which has a significantly greater effect on a teams weekly targets). However, I have been watching her weekly goal slowly decreasing since she's above goal each week and wondering when exactly is the right time to make adjustments? Since runners can only adjust their annual goal once during the game, should she wait or do it now? Also, it's summer where she lives so running weather is better now compared to when it'll be in our summer (her winter).
Tammy
We know that mileage will change week to week. Right now we're just letting everyone know that we can step in if necessary. It's early, but there is already a sizeable distance between first place and 8th.
I think this is the first year in the game for your runner who was mentioned. It's tough to set a goal after years in the game, so the first year it's hard to know what to expect. Some of the overachievers have been in the game a while. If this is straight up sandbagging, it needs to be dealt with soon.
delicate flower
I am one of those people, but my miles are really front loaded this year on account of the Boston Marathon. I'll be happy when that is behind me so I can get back to my usual 20-25 mpw. I'm tired. As a triathlete with an Ironman on the schedule, once I get through Boston, cycling will begin to take over.
<3
Would it be possible to send the captains the runners in question?
Pleased to see that the Admins are monitoring this, but I hope that you will only step in if there is blatant sandbagging. At the very least the runner and/or their team captains should be asked if there is a reasonable explanation for the variance from goal before any action is taken.
Baboon is an excellent example of a runner that would be highlighted by the stats for the first few weeks, but has an excellent explanation.
My team last year had a runner that had had injury problems in earlier years that kept him to around 500-600 miles per year. He set his goal at what he considered a challenging 1000 miles at the start of the year and managed to gradually increase his mileage without further injury. He adjusted his goal up to 1400 or 1500 miles in late spring without consulting the team captains and continued to increase his weekly mileage. Of course no further adjustment could be made and he ended the year with well over 2000 miles. Definitely not intentional sandbagging, but might look like it was.
My team this year has a number of runners that have Ultra Distance races on their schedule (and I don't just mean 50K). This gives the team a significant boost in race week, but a drop for the following week or two. This should average out over the whole year, but may look odd taken on a week by week basis.
Interestingly, the teams in 7th and 8th places both won last week.
Started running at age 60.
AG 60-64 PR - 5K 25:45, 10K 53:28, HM 1:57:39, Marathon 4:32:09
AG 65-69 PR - 5K 26:11, HM 2:02:39, Marathon 5:04:47
Upcoming race: Four on the 4th 7/4/24 maybe.
At this point, we aren't questioning specific runners. We are just pointing this out a general trend we are seeing. Given the really high numbers we are seeing now, it might suggest there are lots of goal changes coming. At the same time we know there are runners who are peaking in mileage now because Boston is coming in less than 2 months.
The Admin team would never arbitrarily raise any runner's goal. There would be discussion with the runner to help them adjust their goal if we thought it was necessary to see what they felt was appropriate. Their captains would be aware of the discussion beforehand as we'd likely talk to them first.
We want this game to be a level playing field. We want everyone on the same page. That means looking at goals, at zero weeks, at results, all of it. If you have questions, ask.
And remember, your admins are runners too.
Or giving it my best shot as playing runner.
Funky kicks 2019
Why is this even a thing?
Most of us are in the game to try to motivate ourselves to be consistent and meet our goals. It is hard for some of us to set a goal that we will run week in and week out. And if we are using the honor system with what people post as a run, why not extend the same to runners who post goals and then may be way over or under for that matter, due to whatever on a week-by-week basis. We are only allowed to adjust this goal once. My vote would be to avoid this slippery slope altogether
Why is this even a thing? Most of us are in the game to try to motivate ourselves to be consistent and meet our goals. It is hard for some of us to set a goal that we will run week in and week out. And if we are using the honor system with what people post as a run, why not extend the same to runners who post goals and then may be way over or under for that matter, due to whatever on a week-by-week basis. We are only allowed to adjust this goal once. My vote would be to avoid this slippery slope altogether
We brought this up because we see a trend. Every year or so someone mentions a way to game the system and it always seems to come to pass shortly afterwards. For once we have something already in place to deal with the issue if it becomes a problem. Other times we've had to make new rules. Never underestimate the creativity and desire to win that runners can display.
That rule has been in place for several years and never used.
I've said in the past that if you are +/- 20% from goal you are doing it right. Very rarely will someone be exactly on target.
Very rarely will someone be exactly on target.
yay! I'm a rarity. Last years goal was 1000 and I hit 1000. no more no less. I've been telling my husband for years what a rarity I am and now you've confirmed it!
Unicorn!
Last year my goal was 1560 and I ended up with exactly 1560. No wonder we had such a magical team last year when it was co-captained by TWO unicorns!
Well, there you have it. Unicorns.