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 five flexible Core distances, five public Drop Weekends and personal targets that evolve through the season. Your first result establishes your starting level. From Race 2, 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 the year, you complete a selection of ten official distances. Your opening result calibrates The Machine. After that, you receive personal targets that respond to how you perform.
You compete with yourself, the runners around you and, ultimately, The Machine.
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 will 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 requirement to become faster.
The challenge is simpler:
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 personal performance targets. X10 is built around completing the same distance ten times.
You can enter either challenge or take on both.
Which challenge should I choose?
Choose RTM if you want:
- Different distances
- Personal targets
- Adaptive progression
- Shared global Drop Weekends
- 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
- 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 10K Edition:
Enter the X10 5K Edition:
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 five flexible Core distances and five global Drop Weekends.
⚫ Core Distances
1 Mile · 5K · 10K · 10 Miles · Half Marathon
Core distances are open throughout 2027.
Complete them independently or use performances from official races that matter to you.
RTM entrants also receive two strategic Core re-run opportunities, allowing selected distances to be attacked again when the moment is right.
🔴 Drop Weekends
4K · 6.66K · 5 Miles · 50 Minutes — How Far Can You Go? · 15K
Drop Weekends take place during five fixed long weekends in January, March, May, July and September.
Each Drop gives runners around the world the same distinctive challenge during the same weekend.
What is an RTM Drop?
Drops are free public race weekends created by Race The Machine.
Anyone can register, complete the Drop distance and submit a result. You do not need to be an RTM member to take part.
For RTM entrants, Drops also connect to personal targets, RTM Score and official season completion.
You can run independently, join a Local Start where one is available or organise an informal gathering with other runners.
No prescribed course. No compulsory mass start. One shared global race weekend.
What does a non-RTM subscriber receive from a Drop?
Public Drop participants can complete the challenge, submit evidence and appear in the Drop results.
Personal targets, RTM Score and progress towards RTM completion belong to the full RTM system and are available only to RTM entrants.
A public Drop is an open doorway into the Race The Machine world—not temporary access to the complete paid system.
Can a Drop result count if I join RTM later?
Yes.
If you join RTM after completing a public Drop, your first eligible Drop result can become your Race 1 calibration result.
It establishes your starting level but does not receive a score because no target was issued before the run.
Completing several Drops before joining does not create several scored RTM results. The additional pre-entry Drops remain public Drop performances.
Do I need to be fast to enter RTM?
No.
RTM is designed for different abilities to participate in the same worldwide season while pursuing targets based on their own results.
A beginner and an experienced runner can complete the same distance without being set the same challenge.
Your speed does not determine whether you belong in RTM.
How are my first RTM targets calculated?
1. Complete your first distance
Begin with any Core distance or an official Drop Weekend.
2. Upload your result
Your first eligible performance becomes your calibration result and establishes your starting level.
3. Receive your targets
From Race 2, The Machine issues a personal target before each race.
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?
Race 1 is your calibration result. It has no target and does not receive points.
From Race 2, each targeted performance receives points based on the percentage by which you beat or miss your 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 — Race 1; no points awarded
A result matching the target receives 100 points. Beating the target increases the score; finishing behind it reduces the score.
For the 50-minute Drop, 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. Strategic Core re-runs do not create additional completed distances.
- 🏆 4 distances — RTM Verified
- 🏆🏆 7 distances — Beat The Machine 2027
- 🏆🏆🏆 10 distances — Machine Accomplished 2027
Completing any seven of the ten official distances means you have completed the central RTM mission and beaten The Machine.
If you selected an earned T-shirt entry, reaching seven also unlocks your official Beat The Machine 2027 finisher’s T-shirt.
Completing all ten distances earns Machine Accomplished 2027 status.
What is RTM Score?
Your RTM Score is your average points total across your scored RTM distances.
Race 1 is shown as Calibration and is excluded because you did not have a target to beat.
If you use a strategic re-run, the better scored performance is retained for that Core distance. A re-run does not add another completed distance or give that distance extra weight in your 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.
How many attempts do I receive in RTM?
Your first submitted result for a distance is normally final.
RTM 2027 entrants also receive two strategic re-run opportunities, which can be used on Core distances during the season.
A re-run lets you attack a selected Core distance again. The better scored performance is retained, but the re-run does not count as an additional completed distance.
Drop Weekends take place on fixed dates and cannot be repeated outside their official windows.
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.
From Race 2, a run must take place after the relevant 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 runs cannot normally be submitted retrospectively as targeted results.
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 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.
You can walk it, jog it, run/walk it or race it. You can also 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 run from 1 January to 31 December 2027.
Core RTM distances can be completed throughout the year.
RTM Drops must be completed during their five official Drop Weekends.
X10 runs should be completed during the official monthly X10 Weekends, apart from the single Freedom Run available with each X10 entry.
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.
A result from another event can count if it matches the required distance, takes place within the relevant completion window and includes acceptable evidence.
For a targeted RTM result, the performance must take place after The Machine has issued the target.
One performance can therefore serve two purposes.
Even The Machine respects that efficiency.
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 in December 2026, 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.
[Submit a result]
Include evidence showing:
- The activity date
- The distance completed
- The elapsed activity time
For the 50-minute Drop, 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 when 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.
Where can I find the official dates?
The complete 2027 calendar will list:
- The five RTM Drop Weekends
- The twelve X10 Weekends
- Result-submission deadlines
- Any other important season dates
[View the 2027 calendar]
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 will use 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 provides year-long flexibility across its Core distances, while X10 provides twelve monthly opportunities to complete ten runs plus one Freedom Run.
However, neither structure should 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 will depend 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 distances or X10 Weekends into their existing 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 adaptive system. Your performances generate targets, your targets shape the races ahead, and five public Drops create shared global race moments.
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—but neither is built around buying an isolated challenge and receiving a medal.
Still have a question?
Email hello@racethemachine.co.uk.
The Machine will be watching.
X10 will be waiting.
#KeepChasing