Your 2021 Start Line is San José Your Living Room Your Street Your Favorite Trail
How-To & FAQ
January 1 – May 2
Start Here: Basics & Essentials
Beginning January 1, any San José Series participant, whether you've signed up for one event or all three, can participate in the 408-kilometer (253 miles) Challenge by logging your miles into our PWR Lab leaderboard.
Our 408 inspired journey will take you through San José's 18 diverse neighborhoods, which you'll unlock every 14.09 miles you run or walk. Earn digital badges and more to stay motivated all winter and early Spring!
We’ve partnered with PWR Lab, a Silicon Valley digital platform that helps runners of any level to perform optimally, to create a San José experience unlike any other.
In addition to the 408 Challenge from January 1 – May 2, each San José event will have its very own race week.
408k Race to the Row
8 kilometers (5 miles)
Friday, Jan 29 - Sunday, Feb. 7
Benefits the Pat Tillman Foundation’s (scholarships for military veterans)
San Jose Shamrock Run
5K (3.1 miles) or 10K (6.2 miles)
Friday, March 12 - Sunday, March 21
Benefits San Jose - Dublin, Ireland Sister City Program (scholarships for youth)
Silicon Valley Half presented by Excite Credit Union
Half Marathon (13.1 miles) or 5K (3.1 miles)
Friday, April 23 - Sunday, May 2
Benefits Silicon Valley Education Foundation (youth STEM education)
You can run on any course you would like for a verified result or simply submit a result manually without any verification between Friday, January 29 - Sunday, February 7.
> Learn More & Optional Racing Routes
San José Series Points – New for 2021!
You will also earn points based on your finishing place to compare yourself across all San José Series event distances.
- 1st place will earn 1,000pts
- 2nd place earns 998pts
- 3rd place earns 996pts
- 4th place – 300th place follow same descending pattern 994pts to 402pts
- 301th+ place will all earn 400pts
Nope! You will be able to get a "verified" result from anywhere you run your race and are synced up with PWR Lab via GPS device.
For those in the San José area, we have created one optional route for each race.
To learn more about the routes here.
NOTE: Running on these routes is optional. You will get a verified result by running your event wherever your local is.
Two options - you can use either, or mix both:
- Automatic sync through PWR Lab ("verified"), using GPS device. Learn more in the Verified (auto-sync) Results section.
- Manual submission of your results (honor system), no GPS needed. Learn more in the Manual Entry Submissions section.
No! We have partnered with PWR Lab to provide offer automated tracking through compatible devices OR the ability to manually enter your results and track your progress.
PWR Lab is currently compatible with Garmin, Suunto, Polar, and COROS. Apple Watch is not yet compatible (more info below). We recommend that Suunto users sync to Suunto App rather than Movescount.
Uploading FIT files, GPX files, screenshots, etc. is not supported in order to get Verified results. Strava is not compatible.
NO GPS DEVICE PRO TIP: If you do not have a supported GPS device, but carry a phone while you run, you can download the FREE Suunto App and use the app's GPS activity recorder to sync with PWR Lab.
What about my Apple Watch?
Apple Watch is not currently compatible, but PWR Lab is hard at work getting it integrated. In the meantime, it is possible to sign-up for Run Gap, and send Apple Watch data --> Run Gap --> Suunto App or Garmin Connect --> PWR Lab. Not for the faint of heart!
PWR Lab is a running analytics company created to help runners avoid training injuries by connecting big data with sport science. The platform helps runners of any level predict risk, prevent injury, and perform optimally.
You’re eligible to redeem a free trial on their platform – no credit card info needed, no obligation, no risk – which begins when you create your account.
For more information on PWR Lab check out their FAQ, or YouTube Channel for tutorial videos.
Ideally: use the same email address you used to register for the race. PWR Lab will automatically send your data to your bib number on the leaderboard.
If you used different email addresses:
- Log in to the Event My Results tool using your registration email and bib number
- Navigate to Account
- Link your PWR Lab account to your bib number (will need PWR Lab email + password)
Registration & Participant Information
We welcome ALL participants worldwide. Please be sure to add the $15 international shipping fee onto your order during the registration process. This fee is required for any international participant in order to have your race items shipped overseas. The shipping fee is $15 PER EVENT. If you are registering for multiple events, please be sure to purchase the same quantity of shipping fees as events you are registering for.
Whether you are using automatic results or manual entries, only activities on or after the date you registered will count. Think about your time of registration as the time you cross the starting line: anything recorded before that cannot be counted, as you were not participating yet!
* Submitting an 8K result to our San José Series leaderboard is only available during the respective race week, but you may still register, participate in the 408 Challenge and receive your related event medals.
Yes! Unlimited valid attempts are accepted, but only the fastest will display on the leaderboard (though you can choose to exclude one if you need to).
Runners will only have 1 valid result per distance. So, you cannot get a 5K result on each of the three validated courses; only the fastest will count.
Your Event Medal and custom BIB will be mailed out during the respective race week. Please note the guaranteed ship by dates as follows:
- 408K: Tuesday, December 15
- Shamrock: TBD
- SV Half: TBD
All participants will receive their medal and bib. The above dates only guarantee to receive them during race week.
We will have awards for our top-3 overall female and male finishers in the 408K, Shamrock Run 10K, and Silicon Valley Half Marathon. Only GPS-verified entries via PWR Lab will be counted for awards.
Your age is calculated based on the last day of the San José Series or May 2. Someone born on January 31, 1981 would show up as 40 years old, whereas anyone born after May 2 in that same year would be 39.
The green Verified badge is reserved for participants who have uploaded 100% Verified data through PWR Lab.
Uploading FIT files, GPX files, screenshots, etc. is not supported in order to get Verified results.
Verified (auto-sync via PWR Lab) Results
Establish a one-time link, and all syncing is automatic after that. PWR Lab will guide you through the process of linking a compatible device during initial sign-up. You can also reference this article for help in linking a device.
If you have a PWR Lab account, your device is linked, and the emails match between PWR Lab and your Race Roster registration, you're good to go.
If your email does not match, there's a one-time step to get PWRL data flowing to your bib number. You can access the Profile page within PWR Lab to link a device, even if the free trial has expired. No need to pay for a subscription to get the data flowing through to SV Half results.
Check to make sure that:
- You synced your device to the app/service (eg Garmin Connect). PWR Lab does not sync directly to your watch, but receives activity data from services like Garmin & Suunto after you sync to them.
- You have waited a few minutes (up to 15) for Garmin/Suunto/etc to send the activity to PWR Lab, and for PWR Lab to process it for the leaderboard after syncing your device. (Suunto users: Movescount is really slow. Use Suunto App)
- You have refreshed the leaderboard page to load the newest data
- The activity was recorded as a running activity, and not any other type (walking, biking, etc). Changing an activity to running after the fact will not allow the activity to sync.
- The activity was recorded after you registered for the event. Think about your time of registration as the time you cross the starting line: anything recorded before that cannot be counted with Verified results.
- You did not unlink your device from your PWR Lab account (you can see this on the Profile page, even if your free trial has expired).
Only activities recorded specifically as a "running" (or "trail running") activity will be imported, analyzed, and verified for the leaderboard. If you want to include walks, hikes, steps, or anything else you can either record them as runs, or use the manual upload to account for that mileage.
When in doubt, you can always upload treadmill results using manual entry, but some watches also support Treadmill modes that are compatible with PWR Lab:
Many newer GPS watches have the option to “Calibrate Distance” after completing a treadmill run. On a Garmin, record the activity specifically as a treadmill run. After stopping the watch – but before saving the activity – scroll down to “Calibrate and Save”, and enter the total distance displayed on the treadmill.
If you record the run and save it without calibrating / adjusting the distance, then it is likely to be very inaccurate. Also note that if you run on a treadmill without selecting a specific treadmill mode, then the distance calculated using GPS will be very small (close to 0), because you’re not moving away from the treadmill.
Note that adjusting the distance in Garmin Connect after you have saved & submitted the activity will not change the data that is sent to PWR Lab or the leaderboard. Resources: Garmin Article, YouTube Video
During the set race week, you are able to sync your 5K (Shamrock & SV Half), 8K (408K), 10K (Shamrock) or Half Marathon ( SV Half). Here's how...
- Record your run with a compatible GPS device (Suunto users must sync to Suunto App, not Movescount)
- Start recording a "running" activity at your start line and end the activity at the designated race distance or your finish line.
- Ensure you GPS lock at the start and end of the activity to ensure coordinates are captured
- Watch must record one continuous activity and must be the distance of the event. For instance, if you are running your 8K and your GPS captures a 10K, it will not count toward the 408K, but it will count toward your overall mileage challenge. You'll need to run the minimum distance listed and no more than 5% longer than the distance listed (and who wants to run extra anyway, right)?
- Do not pause. Your total time between start line and finish line will be counted!
It sure does! Your particular race segment (ex. 8K for the 408K race) will also accumulate mileage toward your 408 Kilometer (253.5 miles) goal.
PWR Lab is a running analytics company created to help runners avoid training injuries. The app is designed to import historical running activity, learn your personal baseline, and then give you completely customized training guidance and injury risk forecasting.
We are extending a free trial of PWR Lab to all our participants, which you're welcome to use for automated mileage tracking during the event. If you do not wish to redeem your free trial and link a device then no worries at all – there is a manual entry option and none of your data will need to flow through PWR Lab. If you do choose to link your device, your historical activities may be imported for the sake of establishing that baseline, and linked services will continue to send new activities until you deactivate the link.
If your free access PWR Lab expires, your participation in the event is NOT impacted! Your GPS data will continue to automatically upload to the leaderboard, even if you choose not to subscribe to PWR Lab. There’s absolutely no obligation.
The specifics are included below, and you can always reference PWR Lab’s privacy policy & terms of use
- When signing up for PWR Lab, you can authorize a connection between another running data service (eg Garmin Connect) and PWR Lab.
- This allows that service to send activities that you have recorded on your watch/phone and then uploaded. PWR Lab does not actually connect to your watch or track you: your activities are simply pushed through your Garmin Connect, Suunto App, Polar Flow, COROS, etc. account to the platform.
- This authorization remains intact until you choose to disable it. Even if your free trial expires, the account can continue sending your results to the race leaderboard.
- You can disable the link between PWR Lab and your connected services at any time.
- After connecting your service to PWR Lab, a green link/unlink icon will be displayed on your Profile page. To unlink your account at any time, navigate to the Profile page, scroll to the bottom, and select “unlink”.
- You can access the Profile page and do this at any time, even if your free trial has expired.
Manual Entry (Honor System) Submissions
Log in to the My Results tool for the event using your registration email & bib number.
Log in to the Submit Results tool for the event using your registration email & bib number.
Add your activity as you would general mileage, but then select the appropriate "segment" from the drop-down menu:
You can run multiple race segments (ex. 8K during 408K race week) and by default, the fastest "segment" during the race week dates will be displayed as your official result. If you re-run the effort in a faster time, the new, faster time will supersede it. If you re-run it in a slower time, the original faster time will remain.
It sure does! Your particular race segment (ex. 8K for the 408K race) will also accumulate mileage toward your 408 Kilometer (253.5 miles) goal.
Visit the PWR Leaderboard and search for your name. Your BIB # will be directly below your name.
Be sure to use the same email address that you used to register for the event, and the bib number that was assigned to you. Incorrect combinations will not be allowed to access the tool.
There may also be a slight lag time between your registration and when you are fully added to the event. Normally this should take effect within a few hours, and never more than a day. If you name appears on the leaderboard, you've been added.
Even if there is a lag before you can get into the tool, all your results from after registration will count. Once you gain access you will be able to add results for registration day and beyond. Contact us if you continue to have trouble beyond 24 hours.
We ask that you keep the most important pieces of this event in mind: Community!
All manual submissions are completely on the honor system. Unrealistic results are often honest mistakes and can be corrected in the Results & Profile tool.
You can also filter the Leaderboard to see Verified results in order to eliminate honor system entries and view only the results that are backed up by GPS data that is verified by PWR Lab.
About Run Local & Contacting Us
Run Local, Give Local: At least 5% of every dollar spent in the Run Local universe goes to partner organizations making a positive impact on our local communities. You are encouraged to further this contribution whenever and wherever you interact with us.
Each San José Series event supports its own official charity:
408k Race to the Row
Pat Tillman Foundation’s (scholarships for military veterans)
San Jose Shamrock Run
- San Jose - Dublin, Ireland Sister City Program (scholarships for youth)
Silicon Valley Half presented by Excite Credit Union
Silicon Valley Education Foundation (youth STEM education)
We also have two fundraising incentive levels for anyone raising $75 and $200. You can learn more here.
Since 2012, Run Local has brought locally produced events to the San Francisco Bay Area celebrating its runners, artists, and the unique diversity of each region. The annual Bay Area series of events includes the Amazon San Jose 408K Race to the Row (February), San Jose Shamrock Run 5K & 10K (March), Silicon Valley Half (April), Across the Bay 12K & 5K (July) and The East Bay 510K – 5K & 10K (October).
In 2020 it added the California Coast 500 to its portfolio along with various media properties such as its Run Local Pod available wherever you listen to podcasts.
For more information, visit RunLocalEvents.com and join us on social @RunLocalEvents.
Contact Run Local's customer support team at info@runlocalevents.com. Messages are typically responded to within 24 hours.
San José Series Neighborhood Badges
San José Series Event Completion Badges
