The AbbottWMM Wanda VIRTUAL Age Group World Rankings offers participants in virtual marathons hosted by our partner races the chance to earn a position in our dedicated virtual rankings platform.
At the end of the qualifying period, the top ranked runners in each age group of the virtual rankings will be invited to purchase an entry to the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championships.
The second virtual rankings season runs from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 and invites for qualifying runners will be for the 2023 World Championships.
The rankings cover age groups from 40 to 80+ for men and women as follows:
Your single best time achieved at a qualifying virtual event will earn you a ranking position in the Virtual Age Group World Rankings for that qualifying period.
For runners in highly-ranked positions, there will be two steps to verify your virtual time before world championship invitations are awarded (please note, places will not be confirmed until the entry process and payment are complete).
The verification steps are as follows:
1. You must have an in-person marathon performance which is NO SLOWER than 10% of your virtual marathon time. If a performance belonging to you is present in our results hub which meets this standard, this verification step will be completed automatically by our system. If we do not have such a result in our records, you will be requested to submit one via your Runner Portal (in your Virtual Rankings section).
2. You will be requested to submit the link to the GPS activity file generated by your virtual performance which can also be done via your Runner Portal. Our results team will then examine this information.
When both these steps are completed, your virtual time will be verified in our system. Highly-ranked unverified times will not be considered for invitations.
Runners in the Virtual Age Group World Rankings will be ranked on time. To be eligible for World Championship invitations, virtual marathon performances must meet certain criteria which will also be judged during our verification process. See our FAQs for further information.
Our partner races who have chosen to be part of the virtual rankings will submit their virtual marathon results to us. Results will appear in the virtual rankings once our team has uploaded the results file.
You must be able to provide your GPS activity link. Please ensure you do not delete this run from your device and that the activity on your device is set to ‘public’.
Runs must be completed outdoors (no treadmills) and as one continuous activity. If your device has an ‘auto-pause’ feature, please ensure this is turned off for your marathon.
Runs that are shown by your GPS file to be continuously downhill for the full distance will not be accepted.
Please note: performances subject to verification may see times adjusted to the total elapsed time recorded in your GPS file.
If your time is fast enough to require verification, you can upload the required information in your Runner Portal. Inside your Virtual Rankings page, upload buttons will be visible for you to submit proof of an in-person marathon performance (if we do not have one on record), and a link to the GPS file for your virtual marathon performance. You will also receive an email with these instructions.
We need the GPS file to be able to verify your virtual performance. Images of watch faces or app screens will not be accepted. Please also ensure the activity for your virtual marathon is set to 'public' on your device or app where applicable.
Yes. Runners must ensure their device records the full 26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometers as a minimum. Please note the event must be a virtual marathon hosted by one of our Age Group World Rankings qualifying races.
We require a performance from an in-person marathon run no earlier than January 1 2019 to complete the first verification step.
50 2023 World Championship places will be available through this pathway.
If you run in one age group, then run a second race in another age group, you will move up into the older age group and your time in your older age group will be the one that counts UNLESS you request via email for your later result to be disregarded, then you will not move up and you’ll remain in your first age group with that first time counting.
Your age group for the virtual rankings is determined by your age on the FIRST DAY of your virtual marathon window. Many virtual events take place over a number of days and we set your age group based on the first day of each event's window.