How do I create a race challenge?

The Race Challenge is the simplest format in Vantage Fit. It is a pure step-count competition — employees race to accumulate the most steps over a set period, and the leaderboard ranks everyone by total steps. No targets, no tasks, no weekly themes. Just steps and a leaderboard.

When to Use a Race Challenge

• You want a quick, easy-to-set-up competition.
• The goal is straightforward: who can walk the most?
• You want a short burst of engagement (1-2 weeks).
• You want a pure leaderboard race without completion targets.

How Race Challenges Work

• Single task: Steps only.
• No target: There is no step goal to hit — employees simply accumulate as many steps as possible.
• Leaderboard-ranked: Participants are ranked by total step count.
• Admin picks winners: After the challenge ends, there is a 3-day buffer period for final step syncs. After the buffer, the admin selects the top 3 winners from the leaderboard.

Note: The 3-day buffer exists because wearable devices (especially Fitbit and Garmin) can take time to sync final step counts. This ensures the leaderboard is accurate before you pick winners.

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Start the Wizard

1. Log in to the Vantage Fit Admin Dashboard.
2. Go to Create Challenge in the sidebar.
3. Select Race as the format.

Step 2: Basic Details

• Challenge name — something energetic, like "Step Sprint: May Edition".
• Description — explain the rules: "Walk as many steps as you can. Top 3 win prizes!"
• Challenge image — banner image for the challenge card.
• Start date and end date — keep it short for maximum energy (1-2 weeks works best).
• Privacy — Public or Private.

Step 3: Audience

Choose who participates:

• All employees — company-wide competition.
• Filtered — restrict by department, country, city, or other attributes.

Step 4: Review and Publish

That is it. Race challenges do not have task configuration, team settings, or certificate options. Review your details and click Publish.

Tip: The simplicity is the point. If you find yourself wanting to add tasks, teams, or weekly themes, consider a Custom Challenge instead.

After the Challenge Ends

1. The challenge enters a 3-day buffer period after the end date.
2. During this period, late-syncing step data from wearables is processed and the leaderboard continues to update.
3. After the buffer period, go to Manage Challenge for this challenge.
4. Review the final leaderboard.
5. Select the top 3 winners — the dashboard prompts you to confirm the winners.
6. Announce the results to your employees.

Best Practices

• Keep it short. Races work best as 1-2 week sprints. Longer races lose momentum because the gap between top and bottom participants grows too large.
• Announce prizes upfront. Telling employees what the top 3 win before the race starts drives significantly higher participation.
• Run them between larger challenges. Races are perfect as quick energy boosts between multi-week Custom Challenges. They keep engagement alive during gaps.
• Promote during the race. Send a notification midway through with a leaderboard snapshot to keep the competition feeling alive.
• Wait for the buffer. Do not pick winners before the 3-day buffer ends. Wearable sync delays can change the final standings.

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Need more help? Contact your Vantage Fit account manager or email support@vantagecircle.com.

Related articles:

• How Do I Create a Challenge?
• How Do I Create a Custom (Multi-Week) Challenge?
• How Do I Create a Journey Challenge?
• How Do I View Challenge Leaderboards?
• How Do I Manage an Active Challenge?