Challenge Types

Pacer supports four different types of fitness challenge out of the box:

1. Steps
2. Distance
3. Virtual Race (previously called "Pace Challenge")
4. Daily Step Goal

Read more below about how scoring for each of these challenges works:

Scoring

Steps Challenge

Scoring is based on total number of steps recorded during the challenge period. Steps are recorded automatically by the Pacer app's 24x7 pedometer functionality. Steps recorded via GPS tracked activities are also counted toward this total.

Manually added steps are *NOT* included in step challenge scores unless the challenge creator has expressly allowed it (Pacer for Teams Challenges only. Community Challenges cannot allow manual data entry).

Distance Challenge 

Scoring is based on total distance walked, run or hiked during the challenge period. The Pacer app allows for the recording of distance in two ways: automatically via the 24x7 pedometer or via GPS tracked activities.

Generally speaking, pedometer tracked distance is calculated as [number of steps] x [average step length]. On Android devices, users have the option to set their average step length. On iOS devices, step length is determined by the phone's built-in sensors and therefore cannot be set by the user.

Since pedometer distance tracking accuracy may vary from device to device, challenge creators have the option to allow only GPS tracked activities to count toward distance challenge scores.

Manually added distance is *NOT* included in distance challenge scores unless the challenge creator has expressly allowed it (Pacer for Teams Challenges only. Community Challenges cannot allow manual data entry).

GPS cycling activities are *NOT* included in distance challenge scoring.

Virtual Race (Previously "Pace Challenge")

Virtual Race challenges require participants to complete a GPS tracked walk, run or hike activity of a minimum distance in order to qualify for the challenge. Any participant who has registered for the challenge but who has not yet completed a qualifying activity is not given a score, and is tied for last place.

Participants who have completed a GPS tracked walk, run or hike activity within the challenge timeframe are ranked based on the average pace (miles/minute or km/minute) of their activity. If a participant completes multiple qualifying activities during the challenge timeframe, the leaderboard will automatically choose the activity with the fastest pace.

Only GPS tracked activities can qualify for Virtual Races. Cycling activities do *NOT* qualify. Activities with unreasonable speed or with highly irregular GPS tracks may also be automatically disqualified by the leaderboard.

Daily Step Goal

Daily step goal challenges require users to complete a minimum number of steps each day to earn a single point, with a maximum of 1 point per day.

For example, take a challenge in which the daily step goal is set at 10,000 steps and the challenge timeframe is 30 days. If a participant completes 12,000 steps on the first day of the challenge, that participants earns 1 point for that day. If on the second day of the challenge, the same participant completes 8,000 steps, that participant will not earn any points on that day since she did not complete the minimum requirement. Her total score on day 2 will be 1 point. If on day 3, the same participant completes 20,000 steps, she again will receive 1 point for completing the goal. Her total score after three days will be 2 points.

In daily step goal challenges, the maximum score is always equal to the number of days in the challenge timeframe.

Steps are recorded automatically by the Pacer app's 24x7 pedometer functionality. Steps recorded via GPS tracked activities are also counted toward this total.

Manually added steps are *NOT* included in step challenge scores unless the challenge creator has expressly allowed it (Pacer for Teams Challenges only. Community Challenges cannot allow manual data entry).

Rules

Late entry

Challenges allow entry as long as the challenge has not yet ended, unless the challenge creator chooses not to allow it. For most challenge types, Pacer allows participants to upload activity data from prior to their registration date. This means that participants who join a challenge after the challenge start can still have all of their activity data counted for the challenge if they have been using the Pacer app all along.

Adventure Challenges are an exception to this rule. Since Adventure Challenges have a fixed distance, they are scored as first-to-the-finish races. Therefore, Adventure Challenges only allow participants to upload their activity data from the day they join the challenge.

Manual data entry

Manual data entry is not permitted in challenges by default. Community challenges do not have the option to allow manually input data. Pacer for Teams challenges allow challenge creators to allow manual entry.

Daily Limits

Steps and distance challenges allow for daily limits. These are here to discourage participants from overexertion or performing unhealthy amounts of activity. They also help keep challenges fun and engaging over longer periods of time, since no single participant can take an insurmountable lead in the first day of the challenge.

Daily limits can be raised or lowered after a challenge has already started. If you change the daily limits mid-way through a challenge, all challenge scores will be recalculated as if the daily limit was in effect all along. This change may take up to 2 hours to reflect on the challenge leaderboard.

Tiebreakers

Daily step goal challenges and steps and distance challenges with low daily limits tend to create situations in which participants may finish the challenge with a tie score. Pacer's tie-breaker in these challenges is always to award the higher ranking to the participant who has recorded the higher percentage of their steps or distance using the GPS tracking function. This is because we consider GPS tracked activities to be more easily verifiable than pedometer tracked activities.

It is possible, though unlikely, that participants may still be tied even after GPS tracked activities are taken into consideration. If this is the case, the participant who has received the most likes from other participants during the challenge will be awarded the higher ranking on the leaderboard. Likes can be accumulated via the leaderboard and also via posts to the challenge feed (if your challenge has a feed).

If you plan to issue rewards to participants based upon their final ranking, we strongly encourage you to consider your own tiebreaker scenarios based on your understanding of your audience.