RunningTrax uses a proprietary formula—our secret sauce—to calculate TraxScores and generate workouts and training programs. It’s based on the idea that improvement in running is not linear; it’s a curve. The faster you are, the harder it is to improve.

So Dr. Purdy developed an equation that has one linear term that simulates walking and one non-linear exponential term that awards increasing points for increased performance levels. Basically, the faster you are, the more points you get. Got it? He started by averaging the velocity of hundreds of world-class performances at every popular distance, and setting those averages as the 1400-point high end of the TraxScore range. He then averaged a larger set of mid-level performances as the 1100-point mark and estimated the next range at 400 points. With these three “known points,” he developed the basis for the RunningTrax system, using math to model a runner’s physical effort. That’s your TraxScore.

With your TraxScore in hand, we then calculate your ideal training zone at 87.5 to 92.5 percent of maximum effort. This range maximizes improvement while minimizing injury, and is used to generate your pacing recommendations in your workouts and training programs, which are written by world class running coach and exercise scientist Greg McMillan, M.S. Your TraxScore determines how many days a week you run, what type of workouts you do, and how fast you do them. And it’s all based on the science behind RunningTrax’s “secret sauce.”