How is my handicap established?
For your first club run you set your own handicap based on your estimated running pace in minutes per km. Because there is no way to ascertain the accuracy of your estimate we don't count that run for aggregate points. Your handicap for the following race will be based on your actual pace from this race. After that, the handicapper will track your progress over time and estimate handicaps on that data. For this reason, the further into a season we get the more accurate the handicaps are likely to be.

How is my handicap affected if I change distance categories?
Generally speaking people run faster over shorter distances so if you run in the short, intermediate or long race you will have a separate estimated per km pace. If you are new to the distance category we treat you as a new runner and estimate a per km pace for the day. After that you will be given a handicap for that distance on top of any other handicap you may have for other distance categories.

What if I think my handicap is wrong?
The handicapper does their best to create handicaps in a fair and equitable way. If you've been sick, injured or unable to train it will affect your time but unless you think there has been a significant mistake or think you will run faster than your given estimate, handicaps are not negotiable.

Handicaps can be negotiated up (to a larger handicap) but not down.

If you think you will run much faster than your estimated time and want to ensure the finishing order remains competitive, please contact the handicap before the race or notify the race captain on the day who can make an adjustment.

Why is my handicap so harsh after winning a place in the last race?
If you come first, second or third in a club run it usually means you have beaten your estimated time by a significant amount. This could be because you have stepped up your training, gotten over an injury or just had a great day on the course. We don't want to penalise you for your good form but we do want the aggregate points to be spread evenly across the competition and to give other runners a chance at a podium finish. For this reason we handicap place getters more for their next race but readjust for the races after that. Aggregate winners are usually those that show a steady improvement throughout the year and make it to at least 10 club runs.

Is my handicap for an Invitation race the same as a club run?
Very similar but there are some minor differences. The Uni Invitation for instance has a 2km and a 4km event. The handicapper will look at your intermediate results from previous races and work out a handicap depending in which race you have entered. Handicaps for Invitations are not published before the event. Runners from other clubs are not included in handicap placings.

Although Invitations will earn you aggregate points, results from Invitations will not be used to calculate handicaps for the next club run. These will be established from the previous club run.

How are the placings determined after a group start or 'sealed' handicap?
For Invitation races or our Pearces Road Rally run, handicap places are calculated after the race is run. Actual times are subtracted from estimated times to produce a finishing handicap order. The person who beats their estimated time by the most wins.