If I start taking my records before the specified period or the specified period is over before I finish my run, will such data be counted towards the distance I have covered?

Any running data before the specified period starts or after the specified period ends will not be counted towards your records for this event.
To have your running data count towards your records for this event, you must run AFTER 00:00, Saturday, January 23 and BEFORE 23:59, Sunday, February 21.