Race day conditions can vary enormously; elevation gain, temperature, humidity, and altitude all affect performance in ways that a simple pace or distance calculator can’t account for. Stryd’s Event Planner considers these factors to give you the most accurate race predictions and target power recommendations available.
What the Event Planner Does
The Event Planner helps you set a realistic target power or target time for an upcoming race or race-effort workout. As race day approaches, the recommendation is continuously refined based on your most recent training data and the race-day conditions you enter.
The Stryd team has 12 popular verified race courses available for a quick add, or you can enter a custom race distance. You can also customize the course surface, average elevation, temperature, and humidity to improve the accuracy of the prediction.
If you have a specific finishing time or target power in mind, you can edit the target manually. Otherwise, the Event Planner will use the recommended target power based on your recent data.
What the Event Planner Needs to Work Well
For the Event Planner to give you an accurate recommendation, the Stryd system needs two things:
30–90 days of Stryd activity data: The Race Calculator uses your previous 90 days of running activity to model your performance. Without enough data, the estimate will be less accurate.
An accurate Critical Power (CP): Your CP is the foundation of the power-based prediction. If your CP is outdated or inaccurate, the target power recommendation will be off.
Both of these requirements are naturally met if you’ve been using a Stryd Training Plan for 30–90 days or if you’ve been on an Adaptive Training plan for at least 30 days. If you’re just getting started, the recommendations will improve as more data accumulates.
Event Creator: A, B, C Priority
When you create a new event in the Stryd mobile app, you’ll be asked to assign a Priority: A, B, or C. This setting determines how the event interacts with your Adaptive Training plan. Understanding the difference is important for getting the most out of both the Event Planner and Adaptive Training.
Event A: Your Primary Race
Event A is the main race your training is built around. You should only have one active Event A race in your Adaptive Training plan at a time. The entire training cycle, phases, workouts, build, and taper, is structured to get you to this race in peak condition.
A few key things to know about Event A races:
You need 13–16 weeks for optimal preparation, especially for a half-marathon or marathon. Shorter windows are supported (down to 4 weeks), but the plan will be more condensed.
Adaptive Training supports race-specific training up to 24 weeks out. If your race is more than 24 weeks away, the system will run in maintenance mode and automatically switch to race-specific training when you hit the 24-week mark.
You cannot have two Event A races in close succession. Event A races should be at least 13–16 weeks apart for the training to be effective. If you have multiple races in a season, assign only the most important one as Event A and use B and C designations for the others.
Event B: Secondary Races
Event B races are secondary races in the lead-up to your Event A. They help you gauge your fitness and race readiness without disrupting your main training cycle. Think of them as fitness check-ins: you race them, get useful feedback, and then return to your normal training.
Here’s exactly how Adaptive Training handles the days around an Event B race:
2 days before the B race: Any scheduled workout is automatically changed to an easy run. This gives you some freshness going into the race.
Race day: The race itself.
1 day after the B race: One easy recovery run is scheduled.
After the recovery day: Your Event A training picks up exactly where it left off. There is no reset or phase adjustment.
Note: If any of the 2 pre-race or post-race days are already rest days in your plan, nothing changes; you keep the rest day. Only scheduled run days are automatically changed to easy runs.
Event C: Fun Runs and Rust Busters
Event C races are low-priority events that don’t require any special handling from the Adaptive Training system. These are typically run at less than maximum effort: a fun run, a local race for the experience, or a casual race to shake off rust. The system treats them as a regular training day.
How to Properly Schedule Your Races for the Year
A well-structured race calendar makes a big difference in how effective your training can be. Here are some guidelines:
Choose one Event A race per training cycle. This is the race you’re building toward. Make sure you have at least 13–16 weeks of training before it, especially for a half-marathon or marathon.
Use Event B races as fitness benchmarks. If you have 2–3 months of training before your Event A, scheduling one or two B races in the lead-up can give you valuable information about your fitness and your pacing strategy.
Keep Event A races at least 13–16 weeks apart. If you’re planning multiple A-priority races in a season, each one needs its own full training cycle. Racing too frequently at the A-priority level without enough recovery and build time between events limits performance or risks injury.
Use Event C for variety without stress. Event C races are a great way to stay engaged with racing throughout the year without adding pressure to your training.
Deleting an Event
Events can only be deleted from within the Stryd app on iOS or Android.
Deleting an Event on iOS
On the profile screen, find the event card you wish to delete.
Long-press the event card (press and hold) to get a prompt to delete it.
Alternatively:
Find your event in the calendar.
Long-press the event card to get a prompt to delete it.
Deleting an Event on Android
On the profile screen, find the event card you wish to delete.
Long-press the event card (press and hold) to get a prompt to delete it.