Rules

Overview

While we do hope you’ll take the time to read through all of the rules carefully, below is a brief overview to get you started.

  • Registration procedures:
    • You have to register for the series itself in addition to the individual races you want to compete at
    • Upon registering for the series, individuals and teams are automatically entered in their corresponding Battle Royale and Points Chase categories
    • Teams:
      • Captains register for the series first and create a team which others can then join
      • Teams do not need to register at the individual races
  • Eligibility requirements:
    • Individuals must be Rhode Island-based or part of a Rhode Island-based running club
    • Teams must be comprised of members from a Rhode Island-based running club
  • Battle Royale:
    • Points are earned based on performance relative to others
    • There is a single mixed, age-graded team category and the following five individual categories:
      • Open female
      • Open male
      • Masters female
      • Masters male
      • Open non-binary
    • Individuals must compete in four races and teams must compete in five races
    • Teams need at least 4 people to score at each race except for the half marathon where the minimum is 3
  • Points Chase:
    • Points are earned based solely on participation and performance
    • There is a single mixed, age-graded team category
    • Teams challenge themselves to reach the following tiers:
      • Bronze (5,000 points)
      • Silver (10,000 points)
      • Gold (25,000 points)
  • Golden Anchor
    • Awarded to runners who compete at all seven races
  • Registration procedures:
    • You have to register for the series itself in addition to the individual races
    • Upon registering for the series, individuals and teams are automatically entered in their corresponding Battle Royale and Points Chase categories
    • Teams:
      • Captains register for the series first and create a team which others can then join
      • Teams do not need to register at the individual races
  • Eligibility requirements:
    • Individuals must be Rhode Island-based or part of a Rhode Island-based club
    • Teams must be comprised of members from a Rhode Island-based club
  • Battle Royale:
    • Points are earned based on performance relative to others
    • There is a single mixed, age-graded team category and the following five individual categories:
      • Open female
      • Open male
      • Masters female
      • Masters male
      • Open non-binary
    • Individuals must compete in four races and teams must compete in five races
    • Teams need at least 4 people to score at each race except for the half marathon where the minimum is 3
  • Points Chase:
    • Points are earned based solely on participation and performance
    • There is a single mixed, age-graded team category
    • Teams challenge themselves to reach the following tiers:
      • Bronze (5,000 points)
      • Silver (10,000 points)
      • Gold (25,000 points)
  • Golden Anchor
    • Awarded to runners who compete at all seven races

Registration

All participants must register for the series itself as well as the individual races they wish to compete in. Upon registering for the series, all individuals are automatically entered in their corresponding Battle Royale category and all teams are automatically entered in both the Battle Royale and Points Chase competitions.

To be included in the RI Grand Prix results for an individual race you must have officially registered for the series prior to competing at that race. You can register for the series at any time and begin competing in subsequent races, but you cannot be retroactively added to the results of past races. Registering for the series does not guarantee entry into the individual races, so be sure to check the registration dates and capacities of the individual races.

Series Registration Fee

Registration for the series costs $25 – $30, depending on when you register, all of which goes directly towards awards and prize money.

Team Registration

The team captain (who is selected by their team) registers for the series first. During registration they create a new team and set up a team password. When other team members register they use that team password to join the existing team.

Teams do not need to register at the individual races (but can if they want to if the race offers team or group registration). Individuals will be manually associated with their team during RI Grand Prix scoring, which is separate from the scoring at each of the individual races.

Registration Links

RI Grand Prix Registration

Aquidneck 10k Registration

The Blazin’ Battle Again Brain Cancer 10k Registration

Clamdigger 5 Mile Road Race Registration

Gaspee Days 5k Foot Race Registration

Arnold Mills 4 Mile Road Race Registration

Bobby Doyle Summer Classic 5 Mile Run Registration

Amica Newport Half Marathon Registration

Eligibility

Rhode Island-based Criteria

For a runner to be eligible for individual competition, their primary residence must be in the state of Rhode Island or they must be part of a Rhode-Island based running club and live in Connecticut or Massachusetts near the Rhode Island border.

For a running club to be eligible for team competition, a majority of its members’ primary residences must be in the state of Rhode Island.

Running Club Criteria

Although a strict definition of a running club will not be applied (i.e. needing to be officially registered with USATF or RRCA), groups looking to enter the team competition should have some of the following characteristics:

  • Host regularly scheduled group runs and training sessions
  • Have a website and/or social media page where club information is shared
  • Wear some sort of matching, team-branded gear at races
  • Genuinely support one another in the pursuit of both individual and group goals
  • Host regularly scheduled group runs and training sessions
  • Have a website and/or social media page where club information is shared
  • Wear some sort of matching, team-branded gear at races
  • Genuinely support one another in the pursuit of both individual and group goals

Launching a new running club so you and your friends / family / coworkers can compete as a team is absolutely allowed! However, recruiting a bunch of top individuals and creating a sham club (i.e. one that exists only in name) for the sole purpose of winning violates the spirit of the rules and is therefore prohibited.

Teams

All teams must be comprised of individuals from the same running club. A single running club may enter multiple teams, but each individual may only compete for one team. Team members can be of any age or sex. Teams may have an unlimited number of members and new members may join a team at any point during the series.

Battle Royale Categories

Team Category

Team competition will include a single age-graded, mixed category.

Individual Categories

For males and females, individual competition will include an open category as well as an age-graded masters category (40+). For non-binary runners, individual competition will only include an open category.

Runners who are 39 on the day of the first race, but will turn 40 before the end of the series, must compete in the open category.

Masters runners may request to compete in the open category by emailing us at info@rigrandprix.com.

Individual Scoring

At each race, points will be awarded to runners based on their finishing place within their designated individual category and the total number of finishers in that category. For masters categories, finishing place will be based off of age-graded results.

At the end of the series, each runner’s cumulative point total will be calculated by adding up the points from their 4 best performances as well as any bonus points they’ve earned (see below for more information regarding bonus points). The runners with the highest cumulative point totals in each category will be eligible for awards. (Note: runners must compete in a minimum of 4 races in order to qualify for awards.)

In the event that there is a tie, the tie will be broken by comparing head-to-head performance at each of the races. If two people are tied in head-to-head wins, that tie will be broken by comparing average age grades across all five scored performances.

Bonus Points

Runners can earn the following bonus points by competing at more than 4 races

  • 5 races – 100 bonus points
  • 6 races – 150 bonus points
  • 7 races – 250 bonus points
  • 5 races – 100 bonus points
  • 6 races – 150 bonus points
  • 7 races – 250 bonus points

Points Equation

The equation used to calculate points is listed below along with a table which shows the points that would be awarded to the top 10 runners in a category with 53 total finishers.

points = 1000 – ((place – 1) * (1000 / # of finishers))

PlacePoints
1st1000
2nd981
3rd962
4th943
5th925
6th906
7th887
8th868
9th849
10th830

Team Scoring

At each race, teams will be awarded points based on their finishing place and the total number of scoring teams. Teams’ finishing places will be determined by adding up the individual finishing places of all scoring members and ranking the totals from lowest to highest.

Individual finishing places will be based off of age-graded results. The required number of scoring members is 4 for all races except for the half marathon where the minimum is 3. Performances of non-binary runners will be age-graded using male standards unless otherwise instructed.

At the end of the series, each team’s cumulative point total will be calculated by adding up the points from their 5 best performances as well as any bonus points they’ve earned (see below). The teams with the highest cumulative point totals will be eligible for awards. (Note: teams must compete in a minimum of 5 races in order to qualify for awards.) In the event that there is a tie for first place, the tie will be broken by comparing head to head performance at each of the races.

Bonus Points

Teams can earn participation bonus points one of two ways.

For having a certain number of team members compete at a given race

For scoring teams, the following participation bonus points are awarded at each race for having additional members beyond the required number:

  • 4 people – 5 points (half marathon only)
  • 5 people – 10 points
  • 6 people – 15 points
  • 7+ people – 20 points
  • 4 people – 5 points (half marathon only)
  • 5 people – 10 points
  • 6 people – 15 points
  • 7+ people – 20 points

For teams that do not have enough members present to score, the following participation bonus points will be awarded at each race based on how many members are present:

  • 1 person – 25 points
  • 2 people – 50 points
  • 3 people – 75 points (except in the half marathon)
  • 1 person – 25 points
  • 2 people – 50 points
  • 3 people – 75 points (except in the half marathon)

For scoring at more than the required 5 races

  • 6 races – 100 points
  • 7 races – 250 points
  • 6 races – 100 points
  • 7 races – 250 points

Points Equation

The equation used to calculate points is listed below along with a table which shows the points that would be awarded to the top 5 teams at a race where there were 15 scoring teams.

points = 1000 – ((place – 1) * (1000 / # of scoring teams))

PlacePoints
1st1000
2nd933
3rd867
4th800
5th733

Points Chase Points Calculation

At each race teams will earn 100 base points for every team member that competes. Additional bonus points will be awarded based off of each team member’s individual age-grade. A sample calculation for the team points earned at a 5k race is shown below.

Team MemberSexAgeTimeAge-Grade %Base PointsBonus PointsTotal Points
WillM2217:1074.910074.9174.9
EllenF5423:0470.110070.1170.1
MattM4021:1963.510063.5163.5
JessF6332:5157.710057.7157.7
Team Points666.2

Age-Grading

Age grading is a way to compare the performances of runners of all ages and both sexes. When a runner’s time is “age-graded”, it is calculated as a percentage of the “ideal” time for their age and sex at that distance. The most recent set of “ideal” times, also known as standards, were developed and approved by the Masters Long Distance Running Council (MLDR) of the USA Track and Field Federation (USATF) in 2025. More technical information can be found here while a calculator can be found here. Additionally, the table below shows how the 5k performances of 10 male and female runners competing together in the mixed team category would be age-graded and ranked.

PlaceNameSexAgeTeamTimeAge-Graded %
1SallyF45Racing Rebels18:2385.3
2SueF31Endurance Empire17:4782.9
3SteveM29Endurance Empire15:5980.4
4JimM22Pavement Pounders17:1074.9
5AnnaF54Pavement Pounders23:0474.7
6JohnM25Super Solemates17:1274.7
7BethF66Racing Rebels26:5074.4
8NickM30Pavement Pounders17:2773.7
9TinaF27Pavement Pounders20:0473.4
10JoeM26Racing Rebels18:0571.1

Golden Anchor

Runners who compete at all seven races will earn the Golden Anchor, which will earn them recognition on a dedicated leaderboard as well as a special end-of-series prize.

Golden Anchor
7 Races

Silver Anchor
6 Races

Bronze Anchor
5 Races

Virtual Races

Battle Royale

To score points at a given race, runners must compete in the physical race as that is the only way to fairly compare everyone’s performance (same course, conditions, etc.). Therefore, virtual race performances cannot be counted towards the Battle Royale competition.

Points Chase

Runners that register for and complete a race’s official virtual race option will earn 100 base points for their team. However, no bonus points will be awarded. To earn your points, please email a link to your official virtual race result to info@rigrandprix.com.  

Golden Anchor

Registering for and completing a race’s official virtual race option will count towards the achievement of the golden anchor. To have your performance counted, please email a link to your official virtual race result to info@rigrandprix.com.  

Refund Policy

If you cancel your registration at any point before the series officially begins (March 22, 2026), you will receive a full refund (minus RunSignup’s registration processing fee). Registration is non-refundable after the series begins.