Tokyo Marathon RUN as ONE virtual challenges + Runkeeper — anyone else finding the syncing process incredibly frustrating?
Curious whether anyone else doing the Tokyo Marathon RUN as ONE – GLOBAL Virtual Run Series has run into this.
I completed one of the virtual challenges and, before the deadline, I went through the required process of linking/syncing my Runkeeper account. The system indicated that the app was successfully synced, so I completed my qualifying run believing everything was set up correctly.
I've now been told by the TMF Virtual Run Desk that I wasn't properly linked to Runkeeper and therefore my result isn't reflected in the rankings and I'm not eligible for the associated prizes.
The frustrating part is that I did perform the App Sync and was told it was synced.
I primarily use Runna/Strava for my marathon training, and one of the problems I've noticed with Runkeeper is that activities don't always seem to populate unless I physically open Runkeeper afterward and allow it to refresh/import the activity.
So essentially, to participate in these challenges, it feels like you have to:
Register for the individual challenge. Link Runkeeper. Perform the App Sync. Confirm that the sync says it was successful. Complete your run using your normal running/training platform. Open Runkeeper afterward and make sure the activity has actually imported. Go back to TMF Virtual Run and make sure that platform has subsequently imported it from Runkeeper.
And apparently even after doing the App Sync and being told it was successful, something can still go wrong in the background and you don't find out until it's too late to correct it.
I love the concept behind the RUN as ONE challenges, particularly as someone interested in Tokyo, but this feels like a pretty awful UX for something that should be simple: complete the required distance within the challenge period and have the verified activity recorded.
I've asked TMF whether they'll manually review my activity because I can provide the original Runna/Strava/Runkeeper data proving that I completed the qualifying run within the challenge period.
Has anyone else had this happen?
And for those who regularly participate in the RUN as ONE challenges, is there some foolproof workflow you use to make sure Tokyo actually receives the activity? I feel like I'm spending more time checking whether three different apps have spoken to each other correctly than actually registering for the run. 😂🏃♂️