Solutions · Virtual Marathon

A company marathon without race-day logistics.

Launch a virtual marathon where employee steps convert to distance. Theme it like a real finish line, rank people fairly on km or miles, and mobilize the whole company from one admin dashboard.

Book a demo See pricing
Steps convert to distance Walkers count No GPS routes required
Teams already running distance events
94% Engagement Embrace Pet Insurance · 8-week marathon
19M+ Steps covered Embrace Pet Insurance · published total
540+ Participants Cotiviti · week-long virtual walkathon
How E-Marathon works

Steps become distance. Distance becomes the race.

Employees walk or run as they already do. Vantage Fit converts step counts into km or miles with a fixed company ratio, then ranks everyone on a distance leaderboard.

01

Steps sync

Phones (Apple Health / Google Fit) or optional wearables feed step counts automatically. No wearable required to join.

02

Convert

Default is 1,000 steps = 1 km. Admins can customize the ratio and choose km or miles for the leaderboard.

03

Rank by distance

The leaderboard shows total distance covered, not raw steps, so the marathon framing stays tangible and fair.

04

Finish the story

Share individual ranks and company-wide distance milestones so the whole workforce feels the finish line.

Distance comes from step count, not GPS.

Employees do not need routes, race bibs, or a special workout mode for regular daily steps to count toward the marathon. Walkers and runners use the same conversion rules.

Design the event

Multi-week distance campaign or one high-energy day.

E-Marathon duration is flexible. Match the format to the moment you need, then theme it like a real company race.

Multi-week

Steady accumulation

Best for 2–4 week flagship programs

Give people enough runway for meaningful distance and a visible leaderboard climb. Brand a finish line employees can talk about in the hallway and on the social feed.

  • Health months and quarterly campaigns
  • Collective company km goals
  • Simple setup: ratio, dates, audience
One-day

Shared company moment

Best for wellness days and re-engagement

A single 24-hour window creates urgency and same-day results. Promote about a week ahead, push on the morning of, and celebrate completions while energy is high.

  • World Heart Day, anniversaries, launches
  • Low commitment, high visibility
  • Pair with a longer challenge after kickoff

Want a 90-day calendar that pairs a marathon kickoff with habit challenges?

Book a demo

One-day participation ranges in product guidance vary widely by culture and pre-event communication. Treat any planning benchmarks as illustrative, not guaranteed outcomes.

Built for participation

Event energy people can actually finish.

A virtual marathon mobilizes the company because the goal feels real, the bar is inclusive, and progress is public without race-day logistics.

01

Inclusive by design

Walkers and runners both accumulate distance from daily steps. No GPS route gate, no “must run a course” rule.

02

Tangible progress

“I hit 100 km” is easier to feel and share than raw step totals. Distance framing keeps the marathon story alive.

03

Collective finish line

Publish company-wide kilometers as a shared goal so quiet participants still belong to the ceremony.

04

Live distance leaderboard

Rankings update as steps sync. Department filters and search keep competition relevant at scale.

05

Global-ready windows

Start and end localize to each employee’s midnight so multi-region teams share one event fairly.

06

Recognition that sticks

Finish ranks, marathon-distance badges, and certificates when you enable them on a challenge, so effort outlives the podium photo.

For HR & program managers

Publish a marathon from the dashboard.

E-Marathons are intentionally simple. No weekly themes or multi-task scoring required.

  1. 1
    Create

    Choose E-Marathon. Name it like an event, set dates, add a marathon-themed banner.

  2. 2
    Configure distance

    Set the steps-to-distance ratio (default 1,000:1) and display unit (km or miles).

  3. 3
    Target

    All employees or filter by department, country, city. Pilot one site, then go company-wide.

  4. 4
    Invite & promote

    Email and in-app invites. For one-day events, plan about a week of pre-comms and a day-of push.

  5. 5
    Run & close

    Watch distance accumulate, share company milestones, celebrate finishers and ranks.

What leadership can see: enrollment and activity patterns, distance leaderboards, and reward activity where configured — program health, not private clinical surveillance.

Admin-facing concept: monitor distance standings and company-wide progress without race-day ops.
Customer outcome

A marathon program with a published result.

Named case studies only. Results vary by workforce and program design.

94%
Workforce engagement

Embrace Pet Insurance — Fitness Guru marathon

An 8-week marathon-style program brought employees onto one digital platform with a live leaderboard and redeemable rewards. Published outcomes include 71+ participants, 19M+ steps, and about 20 km average distance per participant.

Insurance · Cleveland, OH · Apr–May 2021 · published case study
19M+
Steps across the program Embrace Pet Insurance · 8-week Fitness Guru marathon
540+
Cotiviti participants Week-long virtual walkathon · event-style energy
~20 km
Average distance / participant Embrace Pet Insurance · published case study figure
Read customer stories Embrace case study

Customer experiences vary by workforce and program design. Metrics sourced from published Vantage Fit case studies.

Questions HR asks first

Fairness, distance, and event design.

Is distance tracked with GPS?
No for E-Marathon. Distance is calculated from step count using your company’s conversion ratio. Employees do not need GPS workouts or fixed routes. A separate ops-supported Marathon Event format exists for GPS-tracked physical races if you need that later. It is not the self-serve default.
Do walkers count the same as runners?
Yes. Regular daily steps convert to distance. Walking accumulates the same way running does under the fixed company ratio, so the event stays inclusive for non-runners.
How does the 1,000 steps = 1 km rule work?
That is the default conversion. Admins can change the ratio during setup and choose km or miles for the leaderboard. Everyone in the challenge uses the same ratio, so ranking stays consistent and transparent.
Should we run one day or several weeks?
Use one day for a shared company moment such as a wellness day, launch, or anniversary. Use about 2–4 weeks when you want meaningful cumulative distance and a longer leaderboard story. One-day events are not habit programs. Pair them with longer challenges if you need daily consistency after the spike.
Can global teams join one marathon?
Yes. Challenge start and end localize to each employee’s midnight. Audience filters can also scope by country or site if you prefer regional heat races under the same program brand.
Related Step challenges Team challenges Multi-activity challenges Wellness rewards Remote team wellness
Enterprise security

Participation data your security team can review.

Measure program health without compromising employee privacy. Documentation available during evaluation.

HIPAA SOC 2 GDPR ISO 27001 ISO 27701
Book a demo Explore security

Ready to run a company virtual marathon?

See E-Marathon setup, the employee distance experience, and HR reporting in a 30-minute walkthrough tailored to your workforce.

Book a demo See pricing
Self-serve E-Marathon Phone-first Walkers included Global-ready
Turn steps into a finish line leadership can see.