Welcome to Zwift Academy Run

The very first Zwift Academy Run is almost upon us. Let’s take a closer look at why you should register, what you will gain from the experience, and how you can make the Team. Ready? Set? Let’s go!

First and Foremost

Before we go any further, it’s incredibly important to clearly state that the Zwift Academy Run program is open to everyone. Indeed, not only is it open to runners of all ability levels, but everyone has a chance to reach the final stages and be selected for the first-ever Zwift Academy Run Team.

If you are a slower runner, do not stop reading here, believing that only the fastest runners will qualify or be chosen. Zwift is looking for you, regardless of your running experience.

The Big Prize

Three women and three men will be selected by Zwift. This team of six wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Berlin to run the 2021 Berlin Marathon.

In addition, team members will receive pro-level coaching, physiological testing at Adidas HQ, a training camp, Adidas clothing head to toe, Adidas shoes, Maurten hydration and gel products, Oakley sunglasses and Garmin watches, a top of the line Woodway treadmill, and a full suite of recovery tools from Hyperice.

If you’re in it to win it, the prize is super good. It’s worth taking part simply for the structured workouts and the experience, but when you add the potential prize at the end, there’s almost no question.

What’s Involved

The Run Academy begins on October 15th, 2020. In order to graduate you must complete 8 structured workouts and 2 additional events by the end of the day on December 9th, 2020.

It’s important to make sure your personal pace settings are correct prior to embarking on the program. Log in to Zwift and click on the menu. Next to your name click the pen icon. Here you will be able to manually enter your current best times for various distances. It’s best to enter your current best times rather than a PR from way back as this will allow Zwift to set the most appropriate paces for your current fitness level.

You can do the structured workouts in a group by searching for Run Academy events in the Zwift Companion App, or on your own by selecting them, at your convenience, from the Zwift Workout menu.

If you have never done a structured workout before, now is your chance to learn from the best coaches in the world. While you can do them in any order, for optimum progression through the program, it’s best to do them as prescribed.

In addition to the structured workouts, you must complete two group runs or races. These will be clearly marked as being Run Academy events. You can repeat any of the sessions multiple times and your best result will be used in the selection process.

Selection Criteria

The goal of the Zwift Academy Run is to help you become a better runner. By taking part in structured workouts and learning from coaches with years of experience at the top of their sport, you can only benefit.

This doesn’t apply merely to elite athletes. Every runner can benefit from improved training techniques, and doing it as part of the Zwift community will help with motivation and give you a sense of shared responsibility to get the work done.

Whatever your starting point, Zwift is looking for all runners. The first goal is to complete the program. Do all the workouts and the two additional group races. If you’d like to be considered for the Finals, and ultimately, selection to the Team, you must wear a heart rate monitor and use a cadence source during the two group races. This is for verification purposes.

All footpods will broadcast cadence as well as speed to Zwift so you can use your ZwiftPod or Stryd. The NPE Runn also sends cadence to Zwift as do some smart treadmills. For heart rate, you can use a chest strap and many watches are able to send wrist-based HR via ANT+ or Bluetooth to Zwift.

Final Selection

Once the program is complete, those who have successfully graduated will go through to the final selection stage. Zwift is looking for a broad range of athletes to make up the team.

You might be looking to complete your first-ever marathon. You might be attempting to dip under 5 hours for the first time. You may have an incredible running story or you might have shown a huge improvement during the program.

Zwift will choose between 20 and 40 runners from all graduates, who will be asked to submit a video as part of the final selection process for the Team. The final six will be notified on or around March 1st, 2021 and then it’s all systems go for Berlin!

Good Luck

It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity, open to anyone 18 or over. Luck will play a part, but hard work and dedication with an enthusiastic and motivated attitude will be what gives you the greatest chance of landing a place on that plane to Berlin.

If you have any further questions about the all-new Zwift Academy Run, do please read the FAQ and you can read more about all this season’s Zwift Academies here.