How does a Global Marathon Challenge work?
Well, first you need to complete the challenge in question; 12 half marathons within a 12 month period, 26 marathons in a 52 week period, 52 marathons within a 52 week period, 10 ultra marathons within a 10 day period or perhaps our A-Z Challenge, as examples. Our challenges are no small undertaking but quite literally anyone can achieve them if they set their mind to it and that includes you!
Do the challenges have to be completed in a fixed calendar year - ie January to December?
Not at all - these can be completed in any rolling calendar period and started on any given date.
Does this have to be one event per day, per calendar week or per calendar month, depending on the challenge I pick, or can I do it in less time?
As long as you complete your challenge 'in', 'within', 'inside' the maximum time constraints of the challenge, then you can absolutely do them in less time and then start your next challenge.
So, for example, 12 marathons 'within' 12 months, you can do them in any month - I.E you could do 3 in one month and then none for a couple of months and then carry on. Or you could do all 12 in one month and you're done!
What are the absolute maximum time constrains for each challenge?
10in10 Days - within any consecutive 10 day period or 240 hours.
26in52 Weeks - within any rolling 364 day period (see note below).
52in52 Weeks - within any rolling 364 day period (see note below).
100in52 Weeks - within any rolling 364 day period (see note below).
100in100 Weeks - within any rolling 100 week period, or 700 days.
12in12 Months - within any rolling 12 month period or 365 days (366 days if you pick a leap year).
(Please note: strictly speaking a challenge in 52 weeks would be 364 days, however our 52 marathons in 52 weeks was the very first global challenge we created and at the time we allowed a full year; 365 day period, or 366 days if it's a leap year, to complete this so it would be unfair to amend that now and therefore 52 weeks = 1 calendar year in GMC terms)
And how do I get one of these awesome accolades when I've done the running bit?
All you need to do is order your medal & personalised certificate and choice of running top in our online shop. You will need to submit a list of your events as proof of completion (see below)
Can I order in advance?
Yes and No. Let me explain.
YES - Some of our personalised options (namely our technical vests) have a longer lead time, so you can order them in advance so that they are here when you complete your challenge. We'll hold onto these for you until you complete your challenge and submit your final list.
YES - We unashamedly want you to come to a 'Phoenix' event to receive your awards if possible or better still - complete the final run of your chosen challenge at a Phoenix Running event and we'll present you with your awards personally.
YES - If you are completing your challenge at another event, we can, upon special arrangement, send your awards to the Race Director and they will present your awards to you. Please, please note, this cannot be guaranteed and you need to obtain the agreement from the respective Race Director. Then email us the details and we can post to them. That Race Director will then need to hold onto your awards and ONLY present them when you complete the challenge.
NO - What we can't do, and we have a very strict rule about this, is send awards out to the recipient themselves before the challenge is completed or before we have seen and vetted your event list. Please understand, that things do not always go to plan and if we've already sent out an award and then you don't finish that last event, then we have compromised GMC rules.
What are the postal / delivery options?
These can be selected when ordering - we post anywhere in the UK and abroad, including to the USA. All the postage to the USA is fully tracked.
Do I get anything else cool?
Yes, a certificate, it looks like this
Do I need to join anything in order to qualify?
No, simply order your items online and if we see you the very next day we'll give you your awards - simple. We can usually turn postage around within 24 / 48 hours.
Can I get one if I completed the global challenge a while ago?
Yes, you can. As long as you satisfy the challenge criteria these can be backdated as far as you like.
Do I need to submit a list of my events and where do I send it?
Yes you absolutely do. The only awards that do not require evidence are the Lifetime Miles Awards (see below)
As a minimum, your list MUST include the event date / official event name and your finish time. If you have the links to the results that's ideal but not a requirement as we can usually find those.
Please email your list to [email protected] and we'll do the rest. You'll hear back from us pretty quickly and we'll arrange to get you your medal, certificate and shirt(s).
Our challenges are a very serious undertaking and as such you have to prove you've done the running bit to get the bling...... which, of course, leads onto the 64 million dollar question.....
What if I've completed an event for Global Marathon Challenges and it doesn't fulfil one of the criteria or I'm not sure?
Simple - just ask us! We're all about 'inclusion' at Global Marathon Challenges and we reserve the right to use common sense and good judgement to decide what counts. If you entered and completed an event in good faith and can demonstrate this, then chances are it counts for GMC purposes!
What counts as a half-marathon, marathon or ultra marathon for Global Marathon Challenge purposes and what can I put on my list?
We're keeping this really simple as we're not advocates of creating rules for the sake of rules, and then more rules to create exceptions to those rules, and then some extra rules to explain those rules, and then a couple more rules which even we don't understand.
We think these rules are the simplest, most rounded, most robust set of rules as to what constitutes an organised half marathon, marathon or ultra marathon event and they are centred around completing a 13.1 mile, 26.2 mile or 27 mile+ distance.
For a comprehensive list of U.K. and Ireland Marathons see the
100 Marathon Club events list.
Here’s a summary of the key rules
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Distances – half marathon is 13.1 miles or greater, marathon is 26.2 miles or greater and ultra marathon is 27 miles or greater and the competitor must have completed the whole distance advertised. (The distance that counts is the distance that’s advertised, not the distance on your GPS).
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Normally 10 starters and 5 finishers and normally with results available.
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Only official events / races count (not training runs).
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Road or trail – any numbers of each is fine or all of one and none of the other.
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The official event must be open to entry to the general public for at least 14 days before the event itself.
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Staged races – if the individual stages are greater than 13.1 miles, 26.2 miles or 27 miles and have a separate set of results published for each distance / day then they count individually – doesn’t matter if you can’t enter the days separately – you still did a half marathon, marathon or ultra.
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You can count a higher distance event towards a lower distance total; for example you can count a marathon in your half marathon total, or an ultra in your marathon or half marathon total, but it will only count as ‘one’ event – I.E you cannot count a marathon as two half marathons.
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Virtual running events (unless completed at an attended / organised event), cannot be counted.
GMC Virtual
As the running world continues to evolve so do we and as virtual running becomes more and more prevalent we though the VIRTUAL world needs its very own suite of GMC Challenges - so welcome to GMC VIRTUAL!
What challenges are available for GMC VIRTUAL?
Basically all of them;
10in10, 12in12, 26in52, 52in52, 100in100, 100in52, 250in250, 500in500
Across all three of our distance disciplines;
Half Maraton - Marathon - Ultra Marathon
All our GMC Milestone T-Shirts are included too
25 Half Marathons or Marathons, 50, 75, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 1,000 etc
Even our A-Z Challenge is included.
Do I need to submit a list for my VIRTUAL runs and how do I do this?
Yes you absolutely do.
As a minimum, your list MUST include the event date when you did your virtual run and your distance and finish time and a form of evidence must be attached to the email.
Please email your list to [email protected] and we'll do the rest. You'll hear back from us pretty quickly and we'll arrange to get you your medal and shirt(s).
What can I use as evidence for my virtual run?
Anything that proves the distance run and finish time can be used;
* GPS Data - including a photo or screen shot of your timing device
* Strava screenshot or other running App data
* Treadmill data can also be use
Can I run a virtual run on treadmill?
Yes you can as long as there is data available that you can use as evidence of your run including distance and time.
Can I include Virtual runs in my organised event list - ie, Can I mix and match attended with VIRTUAL?
Yes you can, but be aware that any challenge list that includes virtual events, even if it's just one will be classed under the VIRTUAL suite of challenges so your medal ribbon and GMC shirt will have VIRTUAL on them.
This is important because actually by the very nature of virtual runs, any run, including organised events can be used as a virtual run - so virtual run lists can include any run. But the reverse is not the case - any organised and attended run must fulfil all the GMC rules and virtual runs cannot be included for the organised event GMC challenges.
WELCOME to the GMC Family VIRTUAL RUNNERS!
What is the A - Z Challenge?
It is a challenge that sees challenger's complete 26 races; one for every letter of the alphabet and then receive one of our epic medals.
What types of challenges are there in terms of distance?
The A - Z challenge can be applied to any organised events from 5km upwards.
Can I mix my race distances?
There are several way you can challenge yourself in terms of distance.
Distances the same - so for example all 5ks, all half marathons, all marathons or all ultra marathons.
Mixed distances - we're having a mixed distance category, where as long as you fulfil the 'letter of the alphabet' criteria then you can include events of various distances.
What events count towards the A - Z Challenge?
Any organised event that fulfils the same rules at the Global Marathon Challenges Awards counts - I.E advertised for at least 2 weeks, minimum starter / finishers rules apply, whole distance competed and results must be verifiable (see 'what counts' section above for a full set of rules)
How do I know which letter of the alphabet to use?
We're allowing two main ways to count an event under a specific letter.
Location - The name of the place / village / town or city in which the event is held - I.E - the London Marathon is 'L'.
Event Title - The 'official' title of the event - exactly as it appears on the event results page - I.E - the X-Phoeni-X is 'X'
Using the example above, the X-Phoeni-X is held in Walton on Thames, so you can choose to count this as X if doing the challenge by event title, or W if doing the challenge by location.
Is there a time limit or start / finish date limit?
No, you can start and finish anytime and take as long as you like.
Can I count an event more than once in my list?
No, you cannot count an event more than once in your list.
What about events where the title starts with'THE'?
For events that start with 'The' you can drop the 'The' from the title if you wish. So, for example, The London Marathon is 'L'
Can I count parkruns?
parkrun - we're going to have a parkrun specific category for those who like to collect their parkruns.
The same rules as above will apply and most parkrun titles are pretty clear anyway - so for example Bushy Park parkrun would be 'B'.
There is going to be one 'exception' for parkrun aS currently there is no 'X' in the UK clearly we want all challenges to be possible. So until an X exists, then parkruns beginning with 'Ex' can be counted as X.
Is there a Countries option?
Absolutely - and you could be the first!
If you want to try an A-Z of countries challenge then you can use the country in which the event is held, so, for example the 'Sunshine Insurance Marathon Bahamas' would count as 'B' for Bahamas.
Do I need to submit a list of my events and where do I send it?
Yes you do. The only awards that do not require evidence are the Lifetime Miles Awards (see Lifetime Miles Awards FAQ).
As a minimum, your list MUST include the event date / official event name / location and your finish time. If you have the links to the results that's ideal but not a requirement as we can usually find those.
Please email your list to [email protected] and we'll do the rest. You'll hear back from us pretty quickly and we'll arrange to get you your medal and certificate.
Our challenges are a very serious undertaking and as such you have to prove you've done the running bit to get the bling.
Are there exceptions?
As with all our challenges, we like to think that we exercise good judgement and fairness, so we created the above framework to guide you (and us).
For questions about what counts, simply email us at - [email protected]
What is a lifetime miles award (LMA)?
A lifetime miles award is exactly what the title suggests - it's an award for completing a certain number of running miles.
These are also a great way of motivating yourself and rewarding yourself for a job well done!
Use LMA's as a motivational tool to ensure you hit your weekly / monthly / annual mileage targets or simple reward yourself for your all time running mileage milestones.
LMA's are beautifully crafted, 50mm wide and a whopping 7mm thick, medal-coins presented on a removable heat transfer ribbon.
What is a medal-coin?
Good question!
So we couldn't quite decide if these were medals OR coins! Technically they are medals that turn into collectable coins, so we, 'coined' the phrase medal-coin. Each one is 50mm wide, presented in either silver or gold and comes on a 25mm heat transfer ribbon with a hidden ribbon loop. Simply detach the ribbon from your medal using the Velcro break, and now it's a beautiful coin!
How does a lifetime miles award work?
It couldn't be simpler. You complete the miles and reward yourself with the relevant milestone.
The silver medal-coins start at 10 miles and then go up in various increments all the way up to 45,000 miles! Gold medal-coins are available for key milestones; 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 75,000 and 100,000 miles.
We even have 13.1 mile and 26.2 mile silver medal-coins, so you can reward yourself for key half marathons and marathon runs - perhaps even your first marathon!
Can I get anything else cool?
Yes, if you want you can order up a very cool Lifetime Miles Perspex stand which holds 12 medal-coins. These are high quality precision machined and look like this :
So, what counts as mile?
So this is the really good bit.
A mile is just that; its 1 land mile, 1.609km, 1609.34 metres, 160934.4cm or 160344 millimetres, nothing more, nothing less.
We are a running organisation so ideally your miles need to be covered on foot, either running or walking.
Can I include training mileage?
Absolutely YES! It's TOTALLY up to you!
Lifetime mileage awards are designed to be completely flexible and for you to use to motivate yourself to get out the door and do your training mileages as well as your race miles.
Why not use them to push your monthly training mileage or as an annual target as well as recording your lifetime mileage.
If you don't want to include training miles then don't - it's completely up to you.
Do I have to submit evidence?
No. Instead, follow these instructions.....
Put you trainers on.
Go out the door.
Run the miles.
Order your reward.
Receive your reward.
Sit back and bask in your glory.
You are epic!
Unlike our other GMC challenges where event lists are required and we vet every result; you don't need to submit anything for our lifetime mile awards.
If you're the sort of person that has found this website in the first place, then discovered this FAQ's page AND is still reading this, then we believe you've done the miles and your word is good enough for us!
