The Runner

The Runner is a reality series on the streaming service go90. Described as a "new breed of reality", it has five "Chaser Teams" of two people each chasing down the runner around the United States of America in 30 days, using social media to interact with the Chase Teams and the Runner. Viewers have the opportunity to also win money by answering questions and/or befriending chasers. Every second the prize money goes up starting at $15,000 on July 1, 2016 and ending with $500,000 on July 30, 2016. The show can be watched live during the month of July 2016 at 12pm, 3pm, 10pm EDT in the U.S. only.

If the runner gets caught, the team who caught him/her gets the current bounty and a new runner starts where the last one left off. The Runner is co-hosted by Matthew Patrick and Kaj Larsen. It went through many years of development, picked up and dropped by ABC in 2002 and picked up and dropped by Yahoo! in the 2000s.

Overview
The Runner is a reality television competition, which consists of teams of two ("Chaser Teams") attempting to catch a runner, whose goal is to race across the USA. The race is divided into daily segments, which end when the Runner gets to the Safe Zone or is caught. If the Runner is caught, the Chase Team who caught the Runner is awarded the Runner's bounty, which starts at $15,000 and increases by $15,000 every day. If the Runner makes it to the end without getting caught, the Runner is awarded $500,000. The viewers are also eligible to win money. Every day, the Chase Teams give out $1,000 in "Chaser Cash" to whomever they deem worthy of it. The Runner also gives out $1,000 daily in "Runner Cash" to whomever they deem worthy.

ACTs (America's Cash Task) are riddles/clues that are given twice daily that point in the direction of the Runner. Viewers can submit the answer online, and 10 people are drawn for each ACT to win $500.

Competition structure
There are 3 episodes aired live every day for a month, at 12pm, 3pm, and 10pm EDT. The 12pm episode begins with co-host Kaj Larsen giving the Chaser Teams a task, which usually provides a clue which needs the ACT 1 answer to be completed. The first ACT normally gives a city name or general location, which the Chaser Teams then begin driving to. The Runner is simultaneously provided his "Daily Op", which he must complete in order to escape for the day.

The second ACT clue is released to the Chaser Teams when they are within a certain radius of the Runner, or during the 3pm episode, whichever one comes first. The clue, when deciphered, contains the exact location of the Runner's Daily Op.

The Runner's Daily Op consists of a challenge, which when completed awards a Checkpoint Key. Every 5 days, the Runner must perform a "Daily Op on steroids", where they must use the past Checkpoint Keys to unlock a Finale Key, to be used on the final day. After every Op, the Runner is given instructions to an escape vehicle, and once they enter a certain area, they are deemed safe for the day.

Season One
The first season consisted of five original Chase Teams, followed by the addition of #RunnerAllstars midway through the season. The Chase Teams are:
 * #TheBrogrammers, consisting of James Stern and Alex Dadds.
 * #BrotherNature, consisting of Travis Smith and Koa Smith, brothers from Hawaii.
 * #SweetNSavage, consisting of Ashley Kelsey of MTV's The Real World: San Diego (2011) and The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons fame, and Heather Rae Young.
 * #FriendZone, consisting of Rafael Melo and Jen Brill.
 * #BravoSquare, consisting of Brandon Saunders and Brent Saunders, brothers from Queens, NY.
 * #RunnerAllstars, consisting of the first two Runners, Bri Hill and Steve Young, introduced mid-season after they were caught.

Season Two
Season Two was confirmed by MatPat on July 30, 2016 at the end of the final episode of Season One. go90 will continue to host the show.