ITRA Score - An "ITRA Score” is given to each runner for every race they complete. Each person’s runner file profile consists of many different scores, corresponding to each race they have completed.
ITRA Performance Index – the individual scores of each runner are used to calculate their Performance Index. The performance index changes with the addition of new results and over time as races become older.
ITRA points – These points are awarded for finishing a race (1 – 6 points), each person who finishes the race receives the same number of points. This article does not discuss ITRA points, it describes only the ITRA Performance Index.
The score is calculated based on the runner’s finish time and on the specific characteristics of the race he has participated in. The calculation of a score looks only at the finish time and does not use the finish position.
The main characteristics taken into account for each race are distance, elevation gain and loss, and also average altitude.
The technicality of the terrain although important it’s not an objective measure and so our calculation uses an indirect method, based on the statistical analysis of our database of more than 5.3 million individual results to also account for this factor.
This finish time is then compared with a theoretical best possible performance for that race and a score is awarded. Scores are built on a scale up to a maximum of 1000 points with the top of the scale corresponding to the theoretical best possible performance.
The same algorithm is used to calculate the score for all races.
Each race has its own adjustment coefficient, which is applied equally to all runners in that race.
This method has two major advantages:
- we can consider any factor influencing the race time.
- our data base and scoring system is constantly improved with every race.
The score for a single race does not change over time.
This makes it possible to compare directly any of your race scores over any time period.
An adjustment may be applied to the score of an individual race upon the receipt of new information, most commonly due to a change of course from the planned route to actual route. An adjustment can take place at any time.
Our years of race analysis tells us that there is no such thing as a similar course.
The ITRA score relates to the performance of a runner for a specific race in specific conditions and will depend many things not just on the distance and elevation profile.
Two races may be advertised with the same distance and the same elevation profile, but in reality differ quite considerably (technical difficulty of the course; the relationship of elevation gain to distance (4 x 1000 m or 8 x 500m) etc.).
Our statistical correction coefficient makes allowance for these differences as well as many other technical aspects. Therefore, the comparison of time between two apparently similar races is not possible.
A score is calculated for all races in our calendar upon the receipt of complete and correct results files from the event organizer as well as accurate race data (distance - vertical gain / loss).
Exceptions: At the moment, no score is calculated for the following races:
"Vertical KM”
- Races where the km-effort (distance + (elevation profile/100)) is less than 5.
Examples:
2km/+100m = km-effort – No score.
2km/+500m = 7 km-effort – Yes , score given
- The race has too many stages
- Virtual races
- The number of finishers is too low (less than 5)
- The data in the result file contains too many errors
Publishing of the results file is a free service; however, the results must be submitted according to the ITRA results format.