What the hell is Race The Machine?
Race The Machine is a worldwide running brand built around sustained participation, personal challenge and earned achievement.
At its centre is RTM — the flagship year-long running system.
RTM combines ten different Race Weekends, three Flex Runs and personalised targets that develop through the season.
Your first result establishes your starting level. After that, The Machine issues targets based on your own performances.
Race The Machine also created X10: a separate monthly challenge built around returning to either 5K or 10K ten times during the year.
RTM processes performance. X10 records persistence.
What is RTM 2027?
RTM 2027 is the flagship Race The Machine challenge.
Across ten Race Weekends, runners around the world take on the same official distance during the same weekend — wherever they are.
Your opening result calibrates The Machine.
After that, you receive personalised targets that respond to how you perform.
You also receive three Flex Runs, allowing you to complete or re-run official distances outside their scheduled Race Weekends when your own calendar gets in the way.
Complete any seven of the ten distances to Beat The Machine 2027.
Complete all ten to become Machine Accomplished 2027.
This is not a one-off race.
This is a system.
What is X10?
Choose 5K or 10K. Ten times. One year.
X10 is a separate monthly challenge created by Race The Machine.
Complete your chosen distance during ten official X10 Weekends across 2027.
You have twelve monthly opportunities and one Freedom Run available if life gets in the way.
Walk it. Jog it. Race it. Mix your paces throughout the year.
X10 is about returning to the distance, building a monthly ritual and completing one significant year-long mission.
There are no Machine-issued targets and no push to become faster.
The challenge is simple:
Can you keep showing up?
Is X10 part of RTM?
X10 belongs to the Race The Machine brand, but it is not a way to enter or complete RTM.
RTM and X10 have separate entries, structures, results and completion records.
RTM is governed by The Machine and includes personalised performance targets.
X10 is built around completing the same chosen distance ten times.
You can enter either challenge or take on both.
Which challenge should I choose?
Choose RTM if you want:
- Ten different distances
- Personalised targets
- Ten shared worldwide Race Weekends
- Three Flex Runs when your own calendar matters more
- Adaptive progression
- RTM Score
- A season that responds to your performances
Choose X10 if you want:
- One chosen distance: 5K or 10K
- A dependable monthly ritual
- Twelve opportunities to complete ten runs or walks
- One Freedom Run
- No pace targets or requirement to improve
Or enter both:
Use RTM to chase performance and X10 to protect the habit.
How do I enter?
Enter RTM 2027:
Enter the X10
Current RTM subscribers do not need to re-enter RTM for 2027. Keep your subscription active and your membership will continue into the new season.
X10 is a separate one-off entry and must be entered independently.
Who can enter?
RTM and X10 are open to runners, joggers and walkers aged 17 or older.
You do not need to be fast, belong to a running club or have previous race experience.
Both challenges are open worldwide.
How far do I run in RTM 2027?
RTM 2027 contains ten official distances.
Each has its own worldwide Race Weekend:
| Race | Distance | Official RTM Race Weekend |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 4K Drop | 1–3 January |
| 02 | 1 Mile | 5–7 February |
| 03 | 5K | 5–7 March |
| 04 | 10K | 2–4 April |
| 05 | 6.66K | 7–9 May |
| 06 | 15K | 4–6 June |
| 07 | 5 Miles | 2–4 July |
| 08 | 50 Minutes — How Far Can You Go? | 6–8 August |
| 09 | 10 Miles | 3–5 September |
| 10 | Half Marathon | 1–3 October |
Complete the distance during its scheduled Race Weekend and it does not use a Flex Run.
Need to run it at another point during 2027? Use one of your three Flex Runs.
What is an RTM Race Weekend?
An RTM Race Weekend is a shared worldwide race window.
During that Friday–Sunday period, RTM entrants around the world take on the same official distance.
There is no prescribed route and no compulsory mass start.
Run on roads, trails, track or treadmill. Run alone, with other people or as part of another event.
Make as many attempts as you like during the weekend.
Submit one result to count for that Race Weekend.
The distance is shared.
The target is yours.
What is an RTM Drop?
A Drop is an RTM Race Weekend opened free to everyone.
You do not need to be a full RTM entrant to take part in a Drop.
Enter for free, complete the published distance during its official weekend and submit your result.
The opening 4K Drop takes place from 1–3 January 2027.
Full RTM entrants race the same distance during the same weekend, but their performance also connects to their personalised targets, RTM Score and season progression.
No fixed route. No compulsory mass start.
One distance. One weekend. Worldwide.
Is every RTM Race Weekend a Drop?
No.
Every Drop is an RTM Race Weekend, but not every RTM Race Weekend is a Drop.
A Race Weekend is part of the full RTM season.
When a Race Weekend is designated as a Drop, free entry is also opened to runners outside the full RTM field.
The official calendar will identify which Race Weekends are Drops.
What does a Drop entrant receive?
A Drop entrant can:
- Enter the Drop for free
- Complete the official distance during the Drop Weekend
- Submit evidence
- Appear in the Drop results
- Take part in the same worldwide race moment as the RTM field
Personalised targets, RTM Score, Flex Runs and progress towards Beat The Machine or Machine Accomplished belong to the full RTM system.
A Drop is an open doorway into Race The Machine.
It is not temporary access to the complete RTM season.
Can a Drop result count if I join RTM later?
Yes.
If you complete an eligible Drop before joining RTM, that performance can become your opening calibration result when you subsequently enter the full season.
It establishes your starting level but does not receive a score because no Machine target was issued before the run.
Completing several Drops before joining does not retrospectively create several scored RTM performances.
The point of a scored RTM race is to know what The Machine wants from you before you run.
What are Flex Runs?
Every RTM 2027 entrant receives three Flex Runs.
A Flex Run lets you submit an official RTM result during 2027 outside that distance’s scheduled Race Weekend.
You can use a Flex to:
- Complete a distance whose Race Weekend you missed
- Complete a future distance early
- Re-run a distance you have already completed
- Use an organised race that falls outside the RTM Race Weekend
- Fit RTM around work, travel, holidays or your own race calendar
Run during the official Race Weekend and you do not use a Flex.
Submit an accepted result during 2027 outside that Race Weekend and you use one.
Use them early. Save them for later. They are yours.
Can I complete a distance before its Race Weekend?
Yes.
Use a Flex Run.
For example, if you have a Half Marathon race in May and want to use it for the official RTM Half Marathon distance, you can submit it as a Flex result rather than waiting until October.
The official October Half Marathon Race Weekend still remains available to you later without using another Flex.
Can I complete a distance after its Race Weekend?
Yes.
Use a Flex Run.
If you miss an official Race Weekend, that distance has not disappeared.
You can complete it later during 2027 by using one of your remaining Flex Runs.
Can I race a distance again after I have already completed it?
Yes.
If its official Race Weekend is still ahead, you can race it again during that weekend without using a Flex.
If you want to submit another result outside the official Race Weekend, that uses another Flex Run.
A repeated distance does not count as an additional completed distance.
Completion milestones are based on unique official RTM distances.
How many attempts do I get during a Race Weekend?
As many as you like.
If the official Race Weekend runs from Friday to Sunday, you can make another attempt if you want to.
You still submit one result from that Race Weekend to count.
RTM does not need to know how many attempts you made before choosing the performance you want recorded.
Do I need to be fast to enter RTM?
No.
RTM is designed so runners of different abilities can participate in the same worldwide season while pursuing targets based on their own performances.
A beginner and an experienced runner can complete the same distance without being given the same challenge.
Your speed does not determine whether you belong in RTM.
How are my first RTM targets calculated?
1. Complete your first official distance
Join an RTM Race Weekend or use one of your Flex Runs.
2. Upload your result
Your first eligible performance becomes your calibration result and establishes your starting level.
3. Receive your targets
After your first result, The Machine begins issuing personalised targets.
As you submit more results, The Machine recalculates the targets ahead.
Your challenge therefore develops through the year rather than being fixed entirely at the beginning.
How does RTM scoring work?
Your opening performance is your calibration result.
It has no target and does not receive points.
After calibration, each targeted performance receives points based on the percentage by which you beat or miss your Machine target:
- 🚀 Machine Destroyed — 120+ points
- 🔥 Target Smashed — 110–119 points
- ✅ Target Hit — 100–109 points
- ⚙️ Within Target Range — 95–99 points
- 🤖 Target Escaped — below 95 points
- 📡 Calibration — opening result; no points awarded
A result matching the target receives 100 points.
Beat the target and your score rises.
Finish behind it and your score falls.
For 50 Minutes — How Far Can You Go?, the same principle is applied to the distance achieved against the distance targeted.
What are the RTM completion milestones?
Completion milestones count unique official RTM distances.
- 🏆 4 distances — RTM Verified
- 🏆🏆 7 distances — Beat The Machine 2027
- 🏆🏆🏆 10 distances — Machine Accomplished 2027
Complete any seven of the ten official distances and you have completed the central RTM mission:
Beat The Machine 2027.
If you selected an earned T-shirt entry, reaching seven also unlocks your official Beat The Machine 2027 finisher’s T-shirt.
Complete all ten to become:
Machine Accomplished 2027.
What is RTM Score?
Your RTM Score is your average points total across your scored RTM distances.
Your calibration result is excluded because you did not have a target to beat.
If you complete the same distance again, the stronger scored performance is retained for that distance.
A repeated distance does not add another completed distance or give that distance extra weight in your overall average.
What is RTM Time?
RTM Time standardises performances across the different RTM distances into one comparable time.
Lower is faster.
Its main purpose is to separate entrants who have completed the same number of distances with the same RTM Score.
How are RTM entrants ranked?
The RTM standings are ordered by:
- Number of unique official distances completed
- RTM Score
- RTM Time
Completion therefore comes first.
A runner who has completed seven distances ranks ahead of a runner who has completed four, even if the four-race runner has a higher average score.
RTM Time is used only as the final tie-break.
What happens if I do not beat my target?
Submit the result.
Missing a target does not remove the completed distance from your season.
The result still counts towards RTM Verified, Beat The Machine and Machine Accomplished status.
It also gives The Machine more information.
Your RTM Score updates and the targets ahead adapt.
RTM is not built around pretending every race goes perfectly.
The difficult results are part of the system.
Can I upload a run completed before receiving my target?
Only your opening calibration result can be completed without a target.
After calibration, a run must take place after the relevant Machine target has been issued if you want it recorded as a scored RTM performance.
The point is to know what you are chasing before you run.
Previously completed activities cannot normally be submitted retrospectively as targeted results.
What happens if I use a Flex before the official Race Weekend?
The distance counts as completed.
Your Flex is used and the submitted result enters your RTM record.
When that distance’s official Race Weekend later arrives, you are still welcome to race it again.
That official Race Weekend result does not use another Flex.
A distance still counts only once towards your completion total.
What happens if I have already used all three Flex Runs?
You can still take part in every remaining official RTM Race Weekend.
Using all three Flex Runs does not remove you from the season.
It simply means additional results outside the official Race Weekends can no longer be accepted.
Your remaining Machine targets can still be visible ahead of their Race Weekends.
The calendar keeps moving.
How does X10 completion work?
Choose either the 5K Edition or the 10K Edition.
Complete that distance during ten official X10 Weekends in 2027.
There are twelve monthly X10 Weekends, so you can miss two months and still complete the challenge.
You also receive one Freedom Run for a valid run completed outside an official X10 Weekend when life disrupts the plan.
Your ten completed runs do not need to be your fastest ten.
X10 records whether you returned and completed the distance.
Can I walk or run/walk X10?
Yes.
Walk it, jog it, run/walk it or race it.
You can change your approach from month to month.
There is no minimum pace and no requirement to become faster.
How long do I have to complete the challenges?
RTM 2027 and X10 2027 both operate during 1 January–31 December 2027.
RTM has ten official Race Weekends from January to October.
Your three Flex Runs can be used at another point during 2027, including after the final official Race Weekend if required.
X10 has twelve monthly X10 Weekends from January to December plus one Freedom Run.
Where can I take part?
Anywhere on Planet Earth.
Use:
- Roads
- Trails
- Parks
- Running tracks
- Treadmills
- parkrun
- Existing races or events
- Your own independent route
RTM and X10 do not prescribe a course or require you to travel to a particular start line.
Can an official race or parkrun count?
Yes.
For RTM, a result from another event can count if it matches the official distance and satisfies the normal evidence requirements.
If it happens during that distance’s RTM Race Weekend, it can be submitted as your Race Weekend result.
If it happens outside the Race Weekend, submitting it uses one of your Flex Runs.
Can one run count for both RTM and X10?
Yes, where the requirements of both challenges are met.
For example, if you have entered both RTM and X10 5K and complete an eligible 5K during a weekend that qualifies for both challenges, the same performance can be submitted to each.
RTM and X10 still maintain separate results and completion records
Where can I find my results and targets?
The RTM results and target tables show your completed races, upcoming targets, RTM Score, RTM Time and season status.
X10 has a separate completion table recording each official monthly result.
The RTM 2027 and X10 2027 tables will go live ahead of the new season.
Search or scroll for your name on the relevant table.
How do I submit a result?
Use the Race The Machine result submission form and select the challenge and distance you have completed.
Include evidence showing:
- The activity date
- The distance completed
- The elapsed activity time
For 50 Minutes — How Far Can You Go?, your evidence must show the distance completed within the required time.
A screenshot from a running app is normally sufficient.
Running-watch data, official race results or a photograph of a treadmill display can also be used.
You can upload more than one file where necessary.
What evidence is accepted?
Evidence should clearly show the general activity details needed to verify the result.
Accepted evidence can include:
- Strava or another running-app screenshot
- Running-watch data
- Official event results
- Treadmill display
- A combination of screenshots where one image does not show everything required
The elapsed time should be visible wherever possible.
Do RTM and X10 have finisher’s T-shirts?
Both challenges offer an entry tier with an earned finisher’s T-shirt.
For RTM, complete seven official distances to unlock the Beat The Machine 2027 T-shirt.
For X10, complete ten official monthly runs to unlock the relevant X10 5K or X10 10K finisher’s T-shirt.
The T-shirt is not sent merely because you selected that entry tier.
It must be earned.
Worldwide shipping is included once an earned T-shirt has been unlocked.
Are medals included?
No.
Race The Machine does not distribute medals merely because someone paid an entry fee.
RTM and X10 are built around completed challenges and earned status rather than automatic plastic rewards.
What is the sustainability approach?
RTM and X10 can be completed close to home, on routes you already use or as part of races you already planned to enter.
Neither challenge requires a special journey, a prescribed course or large-scale physical event infrastructure.
There are no automatically distributed medals.
Earned finisher’s T-shirts are made from organic cotton and produced only after they have been unlocked, avoiding speculative bulk production.
I am a new runner. Can I enter?
Absolutely.
RTM and X10 are open to new runners as well as experienced competitors.
Walking, run/walking and running all count where permitted by the challenge.
RTM uses your opening performance to establish your own starting level.
X10 has no pace requirement at all.
Build up gradually and seek appropriate medical or professional training guidance where necessary.
What happens if I become injured?
Your health comes before completing a challenge.
RTM only requires seven of ten distances to Beat The Machine and provides three Flex Runs to help the season fit around real life.
X10 provides twelve monthly opportunities to complete ten runs plus one Freedom Run.
Neither structure should ever be used as a reason to continue running through an injury.
By entering RTM or X10, you accept the participation terms and take part at your own risk.
[Read the participation disclaimer]
How should I train?
Training depends on your experience, current fitness and chosen challenge.
New runners may find a recognised beginner or Couch to 5K programme useful.
More experienced runners can incorporate RTM Race Weekends or X10 into their existing training and race plans.
RTM provides targets and a season structure, but it does not replace individual coaching, medical guidance or a training plan suited to your circumstances.
Is Race The Machine a virtual race?
Not in the conventional sense.
A traditional virtual race usually asks you to purchase one distance, complete it wherever you are and receive a reward.
RTM is a year-long worldwide race system.
Ten shared Race Weekends give the season its rhythm.
Your performances generate personalised targets.
Your targets shape what you are asked to beat next.
Three Flex Runs allow the system to fit around a real running life without removing the shared race moments.
Selected Race Weekends can become Drops, opening that shared moment free to anyone.
X10 is a separate year-long monthly ritual rather than a collection of unrelated virtual races.
Both are distributed rather than tied to one physical venue.
The distance is shared. The target is yours.
Still have a question?
Email hello@racethemachine.co.uk.
The Machine will be watching.
X10 will be waiting.
#KeepChasing