Fitness Tracker Support - ChallengeRunner

ChallengeRunner Technical Support

Question:: Do all challenges support trackers?
Answer:: No. While many of the challenges that run on the ChallengeRunner platform are integrated with fitness trackers, many others are not. Tracker integration only works in the fee-based Commercial Edition. Trackers can obviously be used with the free, ad-based Commercial Edition when participants manually enter data.

Question:: How do I authorize my tracker in ChallengeRunner?
Answer:: The process is slightly different for every fitness tracker. However, authorizing a tracker generally* starts by logging into the ChallengeRunner website and then clicking the Trackers button on the user page. Then, select the tracker type from the drop down menu and then click the Authorize link. You will be redirected to the tracker's website where you log in with your fitness tracker ID and password. Then, follow the instructions to allow ChallengeRunner to collect data. For specific instructions for your tracker, click the device to the right.

*Apple Health is authorized through the ChallengeRunner iOS app and Apple settings and Samsung Health is authorized through the ChallengeRunner Android app.

Question:: What types of tracker data can be collected by ChallengeRunner?
Answer:: Fitness tracker manufacturers provide a variety of data to ChallengeRunner; however, we only collect activity data that is common to all devices. At this point, ChallengeRunner is capable of collecting the following: Steps, Active Minutes*, Distance (both Miles and Km), Calories, and Sleep.

*Misfit devices do not collect Active Minutes

Question:: How often is data collected?
Answer:: For the current day, data is collected from all* tracker manufacturer's databases every 15 minutes. For the prior day, data is collected once an hour. The reason for this is to collect any data from devices that have were not synced the night before. Once per day, data is collected for the last seven days. This will collect data for participants who may have forgotten to sync their device for several days.

*Apple Health and Samsung Health do not have a central database for us to collect data from. Instead, uers must use either the ChallengeRunner iOS or Android app to transmit data to ChallengeRunner in real-time.

Question:: Why does my fitness tracker show activity but ChallengeRunner does not?
Answer:: The first step is to sync your device using your manufacturer's app or website. Then, wait for the 15 minute collection cycle to complete. If your data is still not showing up on ChallengeRunner, use your browser to navigate to the tracker manufacturer's website* (fitbit.com, garmin.com, etc), log in with your Id and passwordand make sure your data is being uploaded to the website. If your data is not on the website, we cannot collect it.

*Apple Health and Samsung Health do not have a centralized website or database; therefore, you must use the ChallengeRunner smartphone apps to get data from Apple Health or Samsung Health to ChallengeRunner.

Question:: Can I manually change the data sent in from my tracker?
Answer:: No. While some admins may allow participants to manually enter their data, if a user has authorized a device to automatically transmit data, any data they manually enter will be overwritten as soon as the ChallengeRunner system collects data. The collection system will no longer collect data past 7 days so data could then be manually entered (if permitted by the admin) without being overwritten.

Question:: How do I find help specific to my fitness tracking device?
Answer:: To find information about specific devices, click the appropriate Interface FAQ to the right.