Landeat Strategy: Routes That Claim More Land for the Same Distance

Landeat is Pace League's running game in which your route claims land on a real map. Even when you run the same 5 km, the area you capture can differ several times over depending on the shape of your route. This guide covers when land counts, how to design routes that maximize area, and how to take land from other runners.

When land counts

Start a run with Landeat mode on; if all of the conditions below are met, land is created the moment your run ends.

• You must return to where you started. The end point must be within 50 m of the start point for the route to count as a closed loop.
• The perimeter must be at least 300 m. Loops that are too short don't count.
• The area must be between 10,000 m² (about 100 m × 100 m) and 5 km². Loops that are too small or unrealistically large are excluded.

Once these checks pass, the area enclosed by your loop is converted into hexagonal tiles on the map. You get not only the tiles inside the route but also every tile the route passes through. Zoom in far enough on the map and you can see this hexagon grid yourself, so you can check tile by tile where each runner's land begins and ends.

Maximize area for the same distance: shape is everything

For the same perimeter, the closer a shape is to a circle, the more area it encloses. For example, for a 1.2 km loop:

For the same 1.2 km, a long narrow loop claims less than half the land of a circular one. On real streets you can't run a perfect circle, so running around a block whose width and length are similar is the most practical choice. Out-and-back routes enclose almost no area and won't create land, so watch out for them.

Note that one lap of a 400 m athletics track encloses only about 10,000 m², right on the edge of the minimum. A small GPS error can push it below the threshold, so a park perimeter or a residential block is a safer choice than a track.

One big loop vs several small ones

Area grows with the square of the perimeter: double the perimeter and the area becomes roughly four times larger. That is why one 3 km loop captures far more land than three 1 km loops. If you have the legs for it, a big lap around your neighborhood is best for the area ranking. A single loop larger than 5 km² doesn't count, but that is roughly a square 2.2 km on each side, so normal runs almost never hit it.

Taking other runners' land

When your new loop overlaps someone else's land, the overlapping hexagonal tiles become yours. The rule is simple: the last runner to cover a tile owns it. It doesn't matter who claimed it first or how long they have held it.

• You don't need to cover the other runner's whole territory. Even a partial overlap gives you every overlapping tile, and their territory shrinks to the tiles that remain.
• If you cover every tile of someone's territory, it disappears from the map.
• Tiles that are already yours stay as they are when you run over them again; only newly covered empty tiles and captured tiles are grouped into your new land.

The flip side is that your land can be taken at any time. If other runners are active around your usual routes, re-run the same loop regularly to win back lost tiles. The Landeat ranking on the map screen shows each runner's total area, so it can also help to see where the top runners' land is and plan your routes accordingly.

A checklist so your run counts

1. Before starting, make sure Landeat mode is on.
2. Remember your starting point and always press finish within 50 m of it.
3. Avoid loops where most of the route runs through weak-GPS areas such as between tall buildings or through tunnels.
4. Choose a route that circles in one direction instead of an out-and-back.