Rules, CUT-OFF TIMES & Levels
At Pace Race all runners who complete at least one lap are winners. They are celebrated and included in the ranking of the respective event.
At the same time, Pace Race is also about competition: fighting, pushing through, personal bests, and records. For ambitious athletes, the goal is to reach the highest possible Pace Race Level. This raises the question:
What is a Pace Race Level?
Short and simple:
The number of laps completed is the Pace Race Level.
More precisely to get the details right:
At Pace Race, each 1,000-meter lap has a cut-off time within which runners must reach the finish line. This cut-off time applies universally to all participants.
Anyone who completes a lap within the cut-off time reaches the corresponding Pace Race Level of that lap.
Example:
Lap 1 = Pace Race Level 1 = 1,000 m completed
Lap 12 = Pace Race Level 12 = 12,000 m completed
The core challenge at Pace Race is that the cut-off time gets shorter with each lap, making it increasingly difficult to complete the next lap - both because you have to run another 1,000 meters and because you have less time to do so.
As a result, Pace Race eventually ends for every participant—somewhere between Pace Race Level 1 (hopefully not!) and, at the very latest at Pace Race Level 28 (which corresponds to the current 1,000 m track world record).
You can find an overview of the cut-off times here:
How to compare levels?
In addition to the main Pace Race Levels 1–28, there are also decimal values that allow for more precise ranking within a level—for example, Pace Race Level 11.75.
Here's an example: if you complete lap 11 within the defined cut-off time (in this case 5:00 minutes), you automatically reach Level 11. You are then allowed to start the next lap, but you don’t have to. This leads to the following options:
1. You stop the race
Some runners give everything they have in the last lap and decide to stop at that point and move to the Cheering Zone. In this case, their final completed lap is lap 11, and they achieve Pace Race Level 11.0.
2. Continue running
a) If you continue running on the next lap, but do not reach the finish line (for example due to exhaustion, injury, or being stopped by the sweep vehicle to avoid being lapped), you drop out and your last valid finish time remains lap 11—resulting in Pace Race Level 11.0.
b) If you continue running and you reach the finish line on the next lap, but you do not make it within the cut-off time, the decimal value is calculated as follows:
Cut-off time / actual time run
Example:
You complete Level 11 and start lap 12 with a cut-off time of 4:50 minutes. You reach the finish line after 5:10 minutes. The race then ends, you move to the Cheering Zone, and your ranking is calculated as:
Pace Race Level 11 + 4:50 / 5:10 = 11.935
This result comes from the fact that, at your actual pace on the final lap (5:10 minutes), you would have covered 935 meters of the 1,000-meter lap within the defined cut-off time of 4:50 minutes.
This system makes it possible to compare performances more precisely. Even if you remain on the same level, you can still track your progress accurately and compare your performance with that of other runners.
c) If you continue running and reach the finish line within the cut-off time, you automatically advance to the next Pace Race Level—and the process starts all over again.
Read more here about → the ranking system, the finals, and the current world record holders.
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