Pacer Virtual Medal Challenges are designed to be motivating, welcoming, and fair for everyone. These rules explain what “fair play” means in challenges and races, what behaviors are not allowed, and what happens if rules are violated. (These rules work alongside Pacer’s broader Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.)

What “Fair Play” Means

Fair play means:

• Real activity only: Your progress should reflect genuine exercise and honest logging. 
• Follow the event rules: Each event can have specific acceptance rules (e.g., GPS-only vs allowing manual input). 
• Respect other participants: Keep discussions supportive and free from harassment, scams, or privacy violations.

Know Your Event Rules (Before You Start)

1) Timeframe matters

Only activities completed within the event timeframe count. If your activity is outside the timeframe, it won’t be credited.

2) Acceptance rules matter (GPS-only vs manual input)

Some challenges accept manual activities, others don’t—this depends on the acceptance rules selected for that event.

Tip: If you’re unsure why progress didn’t update, check the event timeframe and acceptance rules first.

Manual Activities: Allowed vs Not Allowed (Fair Play Standards)

Manual activities can be a valid way to record workouts (like treadmill sessions), if the event rules allow them.

Virtual Races (Medal Races)

Manual activities are generally allowed if they are:

• Distance-based 
• Completed “in one go” (one single session) 
• Logged after you joined and within the race timeframe 
• Logged with a distance value (required) 
• Proof photo is recommended; submissions without proof may be rejected

Manual activities usually won’t count in Virtual Races if they are:

• Accumulated “24x7 pedometer distance” (not a single session) 
• Multiple smaller workouts combined to reach the race distance 
• Logged before you joined (even by minutes) 
• Missing a distance value

Virtual Challenges (Accumulated Distance Over Time)

Manual activities count only if your rules allow them, such as selecting “All exercise types (include manual input).” Proof may still be requested, and entries outside the timeframe won’t count.

Prohibited “Unfair Play” Behavior

The following behaviors harm fairness and may result in restrictions or suspension:

A) Falsifying activity or results

Not allowed:

• Submitting activity you did not complete 
• Manipulating records to appear within the timeframe when they were not 
• Creating misleading or deceptive entries (including repeated patterns that indicate inauthentic participation)

B) Misusing manual submissions

Not allowed:

• Logging manual activities when the event acceptance rules do not allow it 
• Splitting a race requirement into multiple sessions and logging them as if it were “one go” 
• Repeatedly submitting manual activities without required details (like distance), or repeatedly evading event requirements

C) Harassment, bullying, hate, threats, or doxxing

Not allowed:

• Insults, shaming, targeted harassment 
• Threats or encouragement of harm 
• Sharing private/identifying information (yours or others’) without consent

D) Spam, scams, and unwanted solicitation

Not allowed:

• Spammy promotions, bot-like activity, phishing, or “too good to be true” offers 
• Pushing referral links/services aggressively in replies 
• Soliciting personal information (emails, phone numbers, payment info) from other users

Important (Organizers & Participants): If someone offers a reward that requires you to share your email/contact/payment info, do not provide it. Soliciting personal or payment information is a serious violation.

E) Impersonation & deception

Not allowed:

• Pretending to be another user, a coach, a moderator, or an official Pacer representative

Keep Your Challenge Data Consistent (To Avoid Confusion)

A common reason people believe “someone is cheating” is actually source or distance calculation mismatch.

• Daily Steps may come from multiple step sources (phone, watch, wearable, health platform). 
• Challenge Distance may come from a distance metric or be converted from steps using stride length estimation.

Pacer step sources can differ by platform:

• iOS: Phone, Apple Health, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin 
• Android: Phone, Google Fit, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung Health

Tip: Switching sources mid-challenge can change how distance behaves.

How to Report Unfair Play or Safety Issues

If you see behavior that violates fair play or community rules:

1. Report in-app (post/comment/profile options) 
2. Block the user to stop unwanted interactions 
3. If you can’t report in-app, contact Support and include: 
   • Username(s) 
   • Screenshot(s) 
   • What happened and when

What Happens If Rules Are Violated

Depending on severity and whether it’s repeated, Pacer may:

• Remove or limit visibility of content 
• Send warnings 
• Restrict features (including posting, messaging, group access, leaderboard/challenge participation) 
• Temporarily suspend or permanently suspend accounts

Pacer’s Terms of Service also state access may be terminated at Pacer’s discretion.