TRVL Train Score™ Methodology
The TRVL Train Score is a personal-fit metric for triathlon races. It rates how well a race matches your stated preferences across five dimensions on a 1-10 scale. This page documents the rubric, the bands, and what the score does and does not measure.
The score in one paragraph
Every race on TRVL Train is scored against five dimensions: Access (how easy is it to get there from your home airport), Swim (does the water match what you like), Bike (does the bike profile match your terrain preference), Run (does the run elevation match your preference), and Climate (does the race-day weather match what you want to race in). Each dimension is scored 1 to 10 based on your preferences. The TRVL Train Score is the arithmetic mean of the five, rounded to one decimal. Five equal weights, one number out, no opaque adjustments.
The five dimensions
Access (A)
How clean is the routing from your home airport to the race start. A direct flight or a drive scores 10. Staying inside your own customs region (US domestic, Schengen, UK, etc.) scores 8. Crossing into a neighboring customs region with strong direct connectivity (e.g., US to Schengen or UK, Schengen to UK) scores 7. A routing that requires hopping out of your region into a less-connected one scores around 5.
- 10 — race is in your home airport's primary list, or driveable within ~6 hours from home.
- 8 — one connection within your own customs region.
- 7 — a single direct international leg into a neighboring customs region.
- 5 — routing realistically requires a plane change in a less-connected region.
- Below 5 — multi-country routing, no easy alliance partner, or long-haul plus a connection.
The score uses your selected home airport plus a database of regional connectivity to estimate the cleanest realistic routing. US territories (Puerto Rico, USVI) are treated as US-domestic for customs purposes; the Schengen Area is treated as a single customs region.
Swim (S)
The Swim dimension matches your stated water-type preference against the race's swim venue.
- If you prefer ocean: ocean / sea races score 10, salt-water bays score 8, salt-water rivers score 7, fresh water scores 4.
- If you prefer river: rivers and canals score 10, lakes score 8, bays score 7, ocean and sea score 4.
- If you prefer lake: lakes score 10, rivers and canals score 8, bays score 7, ocean and sea score 4.
- If you prefer wetsuit-legal: races where wetsuits are always legal score 10, usually legal score 8, borderline score 5, never legal score 2.
- If you have no preference: all races score 7 (neutral).
Bike (B)
The Bike dimension matches your stated elevation preference (flat, rolling, hilly, mountainous) against the race's bike-leg total elevation gain. The thresholds adjust by distance — a "flat" 70.3 has a different absolute gain than a "flat" 140.6.
| Preference | 70.3 race scores 10 | 140.6 race scores 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Flat | Bike gain ≤ 350 m | Bike gain ≤ 700 m |
| Rolling | 350-700 m | 700-1,400 m |
| Hilly | 700-1,100 m | 1,400-2,200 m |
| Mountainous | Above 1,100 m | Above 2,200 m |
Races outside your preferred band score lower on a graded scale; the further from your preference, the lower the score.
Run (R)
The Run dimension uses the same logic as Bike, against the run-leg total elevation gain. Thresholds are tuned for a runner's experience of climbing on tired legs after a swim and bike, so the absolute meters are smaller than the bike thresholds.
| Preference | 70.3 race scores 10 | 140.6 race scores 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Flat | Run gain ≤ 75 m | Run gain ≤ 150 m |
| Rolling | 75-175 m | 150-350 m |
| Hilly | 175-350 m | 350-700 m |
Climate (C)
The Climate dimension matches your stated preference (cool, mild, warm, hot, or any) against the average daytime high at the race host, on the race date.
- Cool preference: scores 10 at 18°C or below; drops as temperature rises.
- Mild preference: scores 10 in the 18-25°C band.
- Warm preference: scores 10 in the 24-29°C band.
- Hot preference: scores 10 at 30°C or above.
- Any: all races score 7 (neutral).
The climate score does not account for humidity or wind directly — an FAQ on each race page surfaces extreme humidity or wind exposure as a separate watch-out.
The bands
Once the mean is computed, the score is grouped into one of five bands:
| Band | Score range | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Elite tier | 9.0 - 10.0 | Every dimension is at or near your top preference. The race is an excellent personal fit. |
| Strong tier | 8.0 - 8.9 | Most dimensions match your preferences strongly; one or two are mid-range. |
| Solid tier | 7.0 - 7.9 | The average race for an average preference set. Most races land here for most people. |
| Calibration tier | 6.0 - 6.9 | Several dimensions are off-preference. Useful as a training-calibration race: ride or run a course that will demand the skill you want to build. |
| Training-signal tier | Below 6.0 | Multiple dimensions are far from your preferences. Pick the race for what it teaches you, not for comfort. A great course for sharpening a specific weakness. |
A low score is never a reason against a race. The TRVL Train Score calibrates training, not race selection. A Lake Placid with a 5.2 score for a flat-course preferrer just means the bike score is low and the rider should train climbing. The honest read is built into the rubric: a hard course is a training opportunity, not a problem.
What the score does NOT measure
The TRVL Train Score is intentionally narrow. It is calibrated for one thing: how well a race's terrain, weather, and access match the preferences a single athlete states up front. It does not measure:
- Race prestige, history, or qualification status (Kona slots, world-championship slot, age-group depth).
- Crowd support, finish-line atmosphere, or finisher's t-shirt quality.
- Course aesthetics, scenery, or the beauty of the host town.
- Hotel availability, hotel quality, or family-friendliness of the destination.
- Cost of entry, cost of travel, or total trip cost.
- Race-week atmosphere, social opportunities, or whether your training partners are racing.
- Personal goals or A-race priority — the score has no opinion on whether this race fits your season plan.
- Course safety, medical staffing, or recent organizational changes at the race.
All of these matter for picking the right race; none of them belong in a five-dimension matching score. Use the race page's Why this race and Travel & logistics sections, and the official race page, for those decisions.
Why five equal weights
The score uses five dimensions weighted equally. That is a deliberate choice. Real athletes have different priorities — for some, water type is more important than climate; for others, the bike profile is the only thing that matters. Equal weighting produces a single comparable number across all athletes and avoids hiding implicit value judgments inside the math.
The dimension breakdown is displayed on every race page so you can see whether a 7.4 average came from "all 7s" or from "two 10s and three 5s." If one dimension matters more to you than the others, read the breakdown rather than the headline number.
How preferences are stored
When you set your preferences on the main page, they are saved to your browser's localStorage under the key trvl-train-prefs-v1. The per-race pages read this key on load and recompute each race's score against your preferences, so the score on a race page reflects your specific fit, not a default. Your preferences never leave your device. To clear them, use your browser's developer tools, or visit the main page and submit a fresh set of preferences.
Versioning
This is version 1.0 of the TRVL Train Score methodology, in use since 2026-06-02. If the rubric, the band thresholds, or the dimension weighting changes, this page will be updated and a versioned changelog noted below.
- v1.0 (2026-06-02): Five-dimension mean, equal weights, bands at 9.0 / 8.0 / 7.0 / 6.0.