CRTS-PM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Passing Score in One Sentence

To earn the Level 1 Certified Running Technique Specialist (Pose Method) credential issued by Romanov Academy of Sports Science, you need 75%. That is the published passing requirement, and it is the only score threshold the issuer states. This guide does not claim a scaled-score range, a pass rate, or a cut score adjusted by difficulty, because none of those are published. If you see a different number on a third-party site, check it against the issuer's exam format information before trusting it.

Just as important, this article is about the Romanov Academy credential specifically. A similarly named credential from The Running School exists, with its own rules. Nothing here, including the score, the format, or the retake policy, applies to that program.

What 75% Means in Question Counts

The exam contains 106 questions, but only 90 of them are scored. If the 75% requirement applies to the scored set, the arithmetic looks like this:

Treat those counts as planning arithmetic rather than an issuer-published answer key. The issuer states the 75% requirement and the 106/90/16 structure; it does not publish a worked conversion, and some items (such as essay-style keyword completion) may not score as a simple right-or-wrong click. Plan to clear 75% with a cushion rather than aiming for the exact line.

Scored vs. Unscored Items: Why 106 Is Not 90

Sixteen of the 106 questions do not count toward your result. The practical problem is that you will not know which ones they are. The issuer's examination page and candidate handbook both state the 106 total, but they use inconsistent section numbering and differ on where the unscored items sit. For that reason, this article does not claim to identify unscored questions by position, and neither should your strategy.

The 90-minute limit across 106 questions works out to a little under 51 seconds per question on average. Some formats will take far less time than that and some, such as video analysis or a keyword-completion essay, will take more. Pacing matters, and we cover it below.

Question Formats That Carry the Score

The issuer lists several formats on the exam. Knowing them lets you rehearse the right motions before test day.

The issuer does not publish how many questions fall into each format or how much each format weighs. So avoid any resource that claims "exactly 20 video questions" or similar. What you can do is practice all six styles, because a gap in any one of them costs points you cannot recover later in the sitting. Our difficulty guide covers which formats candidates tend to find most demanding.

The One-Pass Rule and Its Effect on Your Score

This is the rule that changes how a 75% target feels. The exam is completed in one sitting, and you cannot return to earlier questions, change previous answers, or skip or flag items for later review. Every answer is final the moment you move on.

That has direct consequences for your score strategy:

• No triage by difficulty. Many candidates on other exams answer easy items first and revisit hard ones. Here, that is not possible. You must commit to a best answer on each item in order.
• No second-guessing. If a video-analysis item seems ambiguous, you cannot park it. Decide using Pose Method principles and move on.
• Pacing is a one-way street. Spending four minutes on one item cannot be repaid by a later review pass. Set a mental ceiling per question.

Open Book Does Not Mean Easy

The current certification portal expressly permits personal notes, printed or handwritten materials, and the Internet. The issuer's resources page also permits notes and printouts. That sounds like a guaranteed pass, but three constraints keep a 75% from being automatic.

1. Time. At roughly 51 seconds per question on average, you cannot research each item. Open-book access helps with a forgotten term, not with learning a topic live.
2. Proctoring still applies. The portal describes AI and live proctoring on your computer. Open-book access does not waive proctoring or confidentiality rules, so you should not assume you may share, record, or distribute exam content.
3. No backtracking. Looking something up and then moving on is fine. Finding the answer to a previous item after it is submitted does you no good.

The best use of open-book rules is a compact, organized reference you built yourself, such as a one-page glossary of Pose Method terms. Our one-page review sheet shows how to structure one, and the study guide explains how to turn it into a retrieval tool rather than a crutch.

Where the Points Come From: Curriculum Targets

The issuer does not publish percentage weights by domain, and the lists below are preparation curricula, not an official exam blueprint. The five headings come from the topics named in the issuer's master-course description, which states that the course prepares candidates for this certification.

The separate study-material page groups preparation differently: FOUNDATION (Pose Method concepts and gravity), TECHNIQUE (cadence, muscle-tendon elasticity, stride length, range of motion, and overstriding), VIDEO ANALYSIS (running-assessment examples), and ETC. (the issuer's push-off discussion). Use these as two lenses on the same material, not as nine separate exam domains. Our domains guide maps the two organizations against each other.

Retake Rules If You Miss 75%

Falling short of the passing score is not the end of the road. The retake structure is generous at first, then adds a waiting period.

Two cautions. First, the USD 125 figure applies only to the attempt after three unsuccessful ones; it is not the initial exam fee or the third-attempt fee. Second, the handbook's one-year application/attempt window is separate from the 30-day deadline that applies to the Military Running seminar route. Do not merge those timelines. For a full pricing picture, including the USD 890 seminar-linked examination fee that is verified only for that route, see our cost breakdown.

Because the second attempt is free and immediate, a first sitting is not a reason to panic, but you should not treat it as a throwaway either. The exam is proctored, and an immediate retake still requires you to fix whatever caused the miss. For eligibility details such as age, education, and identification, read the requirements guide. Note that the portal requests one valid ID while the formal eligibility page requires two, a conflict the issuer has not resolved, so confirm before test day.

A Score-Focused Preparation Sequence

If you want a plan keyed to the 75% line, sequence your preparation around the formats that punish gaps most. This is one suggested order, not an issuer-prescribed schedule.

Technique and video analysis come before full simulations because they require the most applied judgment, and judgment cannot be crammed. Finish with timed, forward-only practice so the one-pass rule feels routine by exam day. To understand the exam's overall demands before committing to a schedule, our pass-rate analysis explains why no certification-wide pass rate is asserted here.

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