Welcome to the Seven Continents Club®

General Race Criteria

The following is a list of criteria for a race event to count towards your Seven Continents Club® (SCC) Finisher Medal and Certificate for all 10K, half-marathon, marathon and ultramarathon divisions.

• A race, organized by an identifiable race director, open to all applicants (which may be subject to entry limits or qualification restrictions), advertised at least 30 days beforehand in the running press, web, by leaflets at other races or similar manner. A race is not required to be competitive in nature.
• A race must hold a permit or license from the local authorities
• A race must have a minimum of 25 participants finish. The events that comprise that race may include 10K, half-marathon, marathon and/or ultramarathon
• Race results or a record of race completion must be published or made available.
• The runner must have completed the whole race entered, abiding by the event rules and have completed the whole course (unless misdirected by the organizers) for the race to count. The declared race distance counts (the runner is not penalized if the race distance appears to be short). However, a runner cannot count a race they know in advance to be short. Participants in relay events or teams, no matter the distance covered, cannot count that race.
• If a race advertises in advance a rule that allows participants to withdraw at a shorter distance than the full race distance, but still over the minimum threshold of a 10K, half-marathon, marathon or ultramarathon then this is permitted to count if other criteria are followed. (i.e., results must be published of the time & distance covered.)
• If a runner finishes a race outside a stated time limit the race will not count unless the runner is included in the official race results with their completion time or a FNT (Finished No Time) designation.
• A 10K, half-marathon, marathon and ultramarathon event shall be run without interruption regardless of the cause.
• Participants shall retain information to substantiate completion of an event, such as a finisher’s certificate or published event results.
• A 10K, half-marathon, marathon or ultramarathon run in multi-sport events are not accepted.

Distance-Specific Requirements

10K: Counts towards SCC 10K Division

(i) Road: Races where the distance is accurately measured and stated by organizers to be 6.2 miles / 10 kilometres) on a road or predominately road surface or,
(ii) Trail: Races where it is accepted that exact measurement is not possible, rounded down i.e., minimum 6 miles or 10km.
(iii) A half-marathon, marathon or an ultramarathon cannot be counted for a 10K.

Half-Marathons: Counts towards SCC Half-Marathon Division

(i) Road: Races where the distance is accurately measured and stated by organizers to be 13m 192.5y (13.2 miles) / 21.098km (21.1 kilometers) on a road or predominately road surface or,
(ii) Trail: Races where it is accepted that exact measurement is not possible, rounded down i.e., minimum 13 miles or 13km.
(iii) A marathon or an ultramarathon cannot be counted for a half-marathon.

Marathons: Counts towards SCC Marathon Division

(i) Road: Races where the distance is accurately measured and stated by organizers to be 26m 385y (26.2 miles) / 42.195km (42.2 kilometers) on a road or predominately road surface or,
(ii) Trail: Races where it is accepted that exact measurement is not possible, rounded down i.e., minimum 26 miles or 42km.
(iii) An ultramarathon can count towards your SCC Marathon Division; however, it cannot count twice towards your SCC Ultramarathon Division and SCC Marathon Division.

Ultramarathons: Counts towards SCC Ultramarathon Division

(i) Road: Races where the distance is accurately measured and stated by organizers to be a minimum of 50km (kilometers) on a road or predominately road surface or,
(ii) Trail: Races where it is accepted that exact measurement is not possible, rounded to be 50km.
(iii) An ultramarathon can count towards your SCC Marathon Division; however, it cannot count twice towards your SCC Ultramarathon Division and SCC Marathon Division.
(iv) An ultramarathon cannot be counted for a half-marathon or 10K.

Timed Events

Events that are advertised as 6-hour, 12-hour, 24-hour or longer shall count as a single event, no matter the distance covered, or time allowed. A runner who completes a minimum of 6.2 miles can count a 10K. A runner who completes a minimum of 13.1 miles can count a half-marathon. A runner who completes a minimum of 26.2 miles can count a marathon. A runner who completes a minimum of 50km can count an ultramarathon.

Staged Events

Each individual day or stage of a multi-day event can be counted as a 10K, half-marathon, marathon or ultramarathon if the following criteria are met.
(i) It is possible to enter each individual day or stage as a separate independent event and separate results are produced for each individual day or stage
(ii) That individual day or stage is at least 6 miles in length to count for a trail 10K or 6.2 miles for a road 10K.
(iii) That individual day or stage is at least 13 miles in length to count for a trail half-marathon or 13.1 miles for a road half-marathon.
(iv) That individual day or stage is at least 26 miles in length to count for a trail marathon or 26.2 for a road marathon.
(v) That individual day or stage is at least 50km in length to count for a road or trail ultramarathon.

Yes!  We will accept results from events completed prior to becoming a SCC Member, that meets the requirements for which races count, as noted above.

No! While we would love for you to complete your entire journey by running all your continents with Marathon Tours & Travel.  You can submit any completed race that meets the requirements for which races count, as noted above. 

No. To earn the Seven Continents Club® Finisher Medal, you must complete the same distance on each continent. You cannot mix distances (e.g., combining a 10K with a marathon or ultramarathon) to qualify for the medal.

There is one exception: ultramarathons can count toward the marathon category if you’ve selected marathons as your goal distance. However, please note that a single ultramarathon cannot count toward both the ultramarathon division and the marathon division – you’ll need separate races for each.

Of course, if you’re up for a bigger challenge, you can aim to complete all four distances on all seven continents – many SCC Members do!

No. A completed trip is defined as a tour package that includes a hotel with package features including, but not limited to, a Welcome Reception, City Tour, Pre-Race Dinner, etc.   

Hotel Only, Hotel with Entry Only and Entry Only are not counted towards your SCC Tier Status (e.g. Boston Marathon Hotel Only Reservations). 

Yes! We hope that seeing other runners complete their goal of running on all seven continents inspires you to conquer this goal for yourself.  Any previous completed trip with Marathon Tours & Travel that meets the definition of a completed trip as noted above will count towards your Tier Status. 

For new members joining after February 2026 you will receive an email shortly after joining the Seven Continents Club® with your travel vouchers.  When you book your next trip with Marathon Tours & Travel you will be able to enter one (1) code per SCC Member per booking during the checkout process.

No, once you join the SCC you are a member for life. There is no expiration date.