Runners register months out, ride a wave of motivation for two weeks, then quietly go dark until taper panic sets in. By race weekend a chunk of your field is undertrained, nervous, or a no-show — and the ones who limped through a rough 13.1 don't come back next year. You've already got their entry fee; what you don't have is a way to keep them moving in the long, lonely middle of a training block.
- The motivation cliff: excitement spikes at sign-up, then flatlines for the eight-plus weeks that actually build the endurance to finish 13.1.
- Solo long runs are lonely, so runners skip them, arrive underprepared, and blame the race for how the day felt.
- No-shows and DNFs quietly erode your field, your finish-line photos, and the word-of-mouth that fills next year's registration.
- You can send training-plan emails, but you have zero visibility into whether anyone is actually lacing up between now and race day.
How Cadoo solves it
Put real money on every training week
Runners bet their own cash on hitting weekly step counts and strength targets during their build. When skipping a long run costs real money, that Tuesday base run stops being optional. Cadoo's stake-with-friends model turns your training plan from a suggestion into a commitment your field feels in their wallet.
Verified prep you can actually trust
Every training rep is confirmed — pushups, squats, situps, pullups, dips and plank holds are counted and form-scored by AI through the phone camera, and daily mileage is read straight from the runner's health app. No honor system, no gaming the challenge. When someone claims they put in the work, they genuinely did, so the accountability that keeps them race-ready is real.
Turn the training block into a shared race before race day
Runners bet with training buddies, climb weekly leaderboards, and rise through leagues as their mileage stacks up. Every strong session becomes a shareable, skinned highlight clip they post to their feed — free reach for your event and social proof that pulls next year's runners toward your start line.
Frequently asked questions
How does Cadoo help Half Marathons?
Cadoo keeps your runners training through the long weeks between registration and race day. They bet their own money on weekly step and strength goals, every workout is verified by camera or their health app so the accountability is real, and leaderboards, leagues, and shareable highlight clips make solo prep feel like a shared race. You get a field that shows up trained, fewer no-shows and DNFs, and organic social buzz that fills next year's registration.
Can runners fake their training to win the challenge?
No. Reps like pushups, squats, situps, pullups, dips and plank holds are counted and form-scored by AI through the phone camera, and daily steps come straight from Apple Health or Google Health Connect. Runners can't inflate numbers or claim work they didn't do, so the leaderboard and payouts reflect training that actually happened.
How do we set up a Cadoo challenge for our half marathon?
Set up a game yourself through the Cadoo Upside Hub, or email Tim@cadoo.io and we'll help you build a training challenge tailored to your event and race timeline.
Ready to launch a game for half marathon organizers?
Set up a branded, camera-verified fitness game through the Cadoo Upside Hub, or talk to us and we’ll build it with you.