Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to email the administrators to be promoted to a higher level?
NO! Please read this page! http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/how-to-upgrade-your-level/

Do I need to maintain my current Maniac level status by achieving the criteria each and every year?
A. No. Once a Maniac, always a Maniac. However, you must stay current with your annual membership dues.

Do I need to achieve all three criteria mentioned in a level in order to progress to a higher level?
A. No, you only need to achieve one of the mentioned criteria in a level to progress.

For my best streak, does it have to be attained in a calendar year?
A. No, So if your streak of 6 marathons in 6 months (Silver level) was run from October 2014 – March 2015, then it officially counts.

Do triathlons and duathlons count?
A. Yes! Ironman triathlons and other multisport events with 26.2+ mile run segments count! 

Do relays count?
A. NO!.

Do virtual races count?
A. NO!.

Do stage races count?
A. Sometimes. As long as the distance is 26.2 miles or longer, and a common start exists.

Help! My race was cancelled. If my friends and I run the course anyway on race day, does it count?
A. Race cancellations happen for various reasons, and Main Maniac feels your pain. If you run the course informally with friends (as an impromptu Fat Ass), congratulations on the training run, but it won’t count toward stats.

When trying to meet the 15 starter/10 finisher minimums for an event, is it per race or can I add all the races together?
A. Only races that are 26.2 miles or longer may be combined.

If I run a double marathon, say a 52.4 miler in one race, can I count that as 2 marathons? Can a 100 miler count as 3+ marathons? Can a “24 hour race” count as 4 “6 hour races?"
A. Sorry, no. It’s still considered ONE event counted towards your total number in the Insane Asylum.

I participated in a 12 hour race. I completed 26.2 miles under 8 hours. I can count this, right?
A. Sorry, no. You entered a 12 hour race; the minimum distance to count is 31 miles. This guideline goes by the advertised distance of the race itself, not the personal time you chose to stop.

Why is there a dividing line at 6 hours for Fixed Duration Events? Why isn’t 26.2 miles enough to count for all these events?
A. Main Maniac feels that if you are signing up for a 24 hour event (or maybe a 72 hour event, Yippee!), you have ample time to go a few more miles beyond a marathon. You can walk it if you want; that’s great.  However, because we are not a club based on speed, it made good sense to make the minimum be 26.2 for shorter fixed duration events.  There had to be a dividing line somewhere.  Why 6?  Why not!

I’m missing from the results of a race! What do I do?
A. If you believe you have completed an event legally but are NOT listed in the results (example: chip error), see if the race director or timing company will add you to the results based on photos and back-up tracking systems, like spotters at the finish line.  

I’m upset because all these rules mean that the race I want to run apparently doesn’t count.
A. Apologies, truly. We are a club based on counting stuff… so we have to have a common frame of reference regarding how to count the stuff.  Do not consider this to be a judgment of merit for other events! There are all kinds of cool events to run. Many count. Some don’t. They are still probably fun. Anyway, there are about 10,000 countable events and we want you to be a lifelong runner. Try different things.

I got swept off the course by an official race vehicle, but then went back out and completed the event on my own. Can I count it?
A. NO. Sorry.  If you got swept by an official vehicle, your day officially just ended. Main Maniac does allow you to count races you complete after the course closes (provided you are in the results), but the implication is that you did this with an ok from the race. Getting swept means you did not.

I ran an event that is not in the Marathon Maniac calendar. May I count it? Does an event have to be in the Marathon Maniac calendar more than 30 days in advance to count?
A. The guideline states that a race has to be advertised via website more than a month in advance. This does NOT mean it has to be in our calendar more than 30 days in advance… or at all. The guideline means that the race has to have useful information out there somewhere.  Our calendar points to event web pages.  Provided a race has advertised itself in plenty of time, it is perfectly fine (and countable) that the race is not in our calendar.  Similarly, races can be added to the calendar all the way until the day before the event.  Although Main Maniac would like for many/most events to get listed in the Marathon Maniac calendar, the calendar does not control “what counts.”