Same Race. Different Winners: The Story Behind Open Podium

Open Podium? What's it about? Who is building it? And why? This first blog post intends to answer those questions — questions you probably weren't asking before landing on this page.

I'm Simon. I've been running for 10 years. I'm a Level 3 England Athletics Endurance Coach and a member of Hastings Runners.

It was when I first joined my running club that I started to struggle. It was just ignorance that led to a poor training schedule, injury, and then a complete loss of form.

I came back motivated though, and won the Target Time Championship, as it was called back then. Much like this idea, all the members in the club had Target Times for the year, and the more we beat them by, the more points we were awarded in races.

That idea evolved into what we have at the club now. The Improvers Award. For specific races, whoever beats their time by the most, from 12 months earlier, wins the trophy.

At Hastings Runners we also have the Handicap Race, an event I helped organise for several years — a 5K where every runner is given a staggered start based on their recent form, with the slowest runners setting off first.

All of these races and awards have one thing in common. Almost anyone can win.

A problem which was evident the moment I gave up golf and took up running. The beauty of golf as a competitive sport at amateur level is the handicap system. On any day, anyone, no matter how good they are, can win a tournament, factoring in their handicap.

When you turn up at a running race, you don't need to look far to realise who is likely to win, or at least who will finish ahead of you. There is very little jeopardy.

The idea behind Open Podium is to give everyone a chance to win a prize on race day. Hence the motto. Same race. Different winners.

How it Works

You don't need to be fast to win. You just need to beat your own target time. Whoever beats their target time by the most wins, or at least earns the most points towards our series leaderboards.

Target Times are created from your recent results, and factor in the elevation and terrain of the race. Once a race is completed, results will be re-ordered by target time, to give a whole different complexion to the standings.

As well as races, you can get target times for parkrun. Our pacing plans allow you to have a much better understanding of how fast you should run each kilometre or mile. No more sprinting off the start line and running out of steam before the halfway point.

I'm writing this post before the site has launched, with real passion for the project and lofty goals for where I want to take the concept.

I hope to team up with partners to offer prizes for races and series. The idea being to encourage more participation across all ability ranges, rather than just those chasing PBs or trophies every time they toe the start line.

The hard work is just beginning, but I'm excited for what the future holds, and for the difference Open Podium could make to the racing community.

If you are reading this in the early stages of the project, races and parkruns may still be local to the South East. But the plan is to expand quickly, so please be patient for races close to you.