One aspect of iFit membership that I really appreciate is the inclusion of live races. Generally these or 5K races that occur monthly, with members around the world able to join on the day of the race to run the race on their machines, running alongside an iFit guide who is running the actual race. Occasionally these change to 8K or even 10K races. As with all iFit workouts the speed and incline of the treadmill is governed by the guide and terrain.
One of the fun things about live races is the chance to earn a medal. iFit provides these free of charge globally as an award for participating. Their designs are really nice and they are of good quality so well worth running for. I enjoy collecting these as they are a great reminder of a given race, and a visual indicator of my progress as a runner.
Here are some tips I have learnt since running my first race in April 2021.
FAQs
How do I register for the race?
You do not need to pre-register for the race. Simply join the workout around 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. So far all of the live races I have joined have been based in the US, but assuming you have configured your equipment correctly, the start time will be shown in your local timezone. Once you join you will see a countdown to the event. Use this time to warm up. The event will automatically go live at the allotted time.
Do I have to run at the same pace as the guide?
The race pace is set by the guide. You can override this however. If you need to slow the speed, you can do so. Obviously this means you will not complete the stated race distance – if the guide is running a 5K at a pace of 5 mph or 8.05 km/h, it will take them approximately 37 minutes and 16 seconds to complete the 5K distance. If you choose to run at 4.5 mph, or 7.24 km/h, then in 37 minutes and 16 seconds you will cover a distance of around 4.5 km. Clearly te reverse is true if you go faster!
Medals are not dependent upon completing the distance so it doesn’t matter if you run or walk. Their aim is to get people to participate.
Do I have to run the whole race to earn the medal?
In order for the race participation to register, then like any workout, you must take part for at least one minute. If you do, you will get a medal. Morals for collecting medals without earning them are for you to live with.
What happens if I lose connection during the race?
These are live outdoor events and so are technically complex. There may be technical glitches. If you are disconneted, try to rejoin. If you can’t, then the race will be available to re-run at another time. If you really really want that medal, you should try to reconnect. If you cannot, then let iFit know there was a problem.
I finished the race but it wasn’t saved. What happened?
When the race is finished, then like any other workout, your machine will automatically switch to cooldown mode. I recommend that you leave this to complete and take advantage of the cooldown. If you do not wish to cool down, do leave the machine to complete the cooldown. At the end you should see a screen saying you’ve just completed the race, etc.
Sometimes it advises that the race could not be saved. This is incorrect. The race has been saved locally to your machine but has been unable to be uploaded to iFit’s servers, possible due to the 1000s of other runners also trying to save their data at the same time. Just leave the machine for a while. If after a couple of hours the race hasn’t appeared, turn the machine off and leave it. Try turning the machine on after a few hours – the race will automatically try to upload. It can take 24 hours or more to upload. Until the race has uploaded it will not appear in your stats. If the race hasn’t uploaded after 24 hours then contact iFit to let them know.
Do I get a magnet for running the race?
You do not get magnets for completing a live race – magnets are for challenges. You can however make your own magnets and I have done this with race bib images. Instructions for doing this are here.
Race Medals
These can be a real bone of contention. If a medal is what motivates you to race, then that’s fine. If you think medals are mere frippery and do not care for them, that’s fine too. Don’t belittle either person’s motivation.
Earning the medal
Medals are earned by participating in the live event for at least one minute. This means:
- You do not have to cover the whole race distance
- Getting disconnected for whatever reason after one minute has passed means you still get the medal.
- If you run a pre-recorded race, then you will not qualify for a medal unless explicitly specified. iFit have started re-airing live races later that same day to accommodate different timezones to allow as many members as possible to earn a medal.
Claiming the medal
In order to claim your medal, you must follow a link contained within an email from iFit that is sent to you after your race is uploaded. There isn’t someone at iFit with a clipboard checking if you have run the race, and then sending you an email. It is likely an automated process that runs in the background in batches. These may run once, twice or several times a day.
Until the email arrives you cannot claim your medal.
It may take up to one week for the email to arrive.
Only after one week without receiving an email should you follow up with iFit. Far too many members expect emails to be sent immediately after completing and are too lazy to research the 100s of identical already answered questions asked on the very same topic.
Tips for beginners
- You are only competing against yourself – if you need to slow down, do so. You will still receive your medal of participation.
- Print your race bib beforehand and take a selfie to share on social media.
- Drink lots of water leading up to the race. If you are not used to running for a distance of 5K make sure you have a full water bottle with you when you start. Drink more water when you have finished.
- Stick to your normal diet leading up to the race but try not to eat any meals for two hours beforehand. The exception could be a few sweets for energy or a banana about 15 minutes before starting.
- Once the race has finished, do not go and sit down straight away. Make sure you cool down properly for at least 10 minutes afterwards – stretch, walk around. Preferably maintain some mobility for a rest of the day, i.e. do some chores or go shopping. Generally don’t just collapse in a sweaty heap otherwise you will likely be stiff and sore for the next day or two.
- Enjoy the experience – it is an event. The feeling of crossing that finish line is amazing, even if you are in a windowless room on a treadmill. You’ve earned that result and no-one can take it away from you. Remember that feeling of achievement.
- It will be tough. Make sure you are dressed appropriately, that there is enough ventilation and you have water with you.