Finisher certificates

How finisher certificates work

Bield generates personalised finisher certificates as PDFs — one per finisher, rendered from the organiser's design template and the runner's result data. They can be delivered in-app to Bield members, by email to non-members, and downloaded at any time from the runner's engagement.

Prerequisites — three things that must all be true

Without all three, no certificate is sent. The most common reason runners don't receive a certificate is that results have been uploaded but not published.

Real example — Alex Morgan, Epona 100 Miler

Below is an actual Bield finisher certificate. The annotations explain what each element is and where it comes from.

Bield finisher certificate — Epona 100 Miler. This is a real certificate generated by the Bield platform.

Route watermark

A light rendering of the race's GPX route fills the certificate background. Drawn from the organiser's uploaded GPX file. Togglable in the certificate design settings.

Checkpoint dots

Small markers on the route watermark show the checkpoint positions along the course. Derived from the checkpoint locations set in the race editor.

Runner name

The runner's name from the results CSV or their Bield profile. Maps to the {runner_name} template variable.

Race name

The race's canonical name from the Bield race page. Maps to {race_name}.

Finish time & position

Taken directly from the published results row. Maps to {finish_time}, {position}, {total_finishers}. The organiser can toggle position and total finishers on or off.

Elevation footer

Total elevation gain for the race, shown at the foot of the certificate. Derived from the uploaded GPX file's elevation data.

BIELD seal

The Bield platform seal — signals the certificate was generated and verified by Bield. Always present; cannot be removed by the organiser.

QR code

Links to bield.run. Allows anyone who sees the certificate (printed or digital) to find out more about Bield and verify authenticity.

Race director name

Set by the organiser in their certificate design panel. Maps to {organiser_name} in the email template.

Accent colour

The organiser sets an accent colour (matching their page theme or a custom hex). It colours the heading, rule lines and the seal border.

Organiser workflow — design, upload, send

1. Enable finisher certificates for the race Race editor → Features tab → toggle Finisher certificates on. Do this before you upload results.
2. Design your certificate Dashboard → Public presence → Certificate. Set the accent colour, heading, congratulations message (use {race} and {name} tokens), race director name, and optional rosette stamp. Toggle route map, elevation caption, position and total finishers on or off. Tap Preview certificate to see a sample PDF before going live.
3. Set your email template Below the certificate design panel: set the subject and email body. Available tokens: {runner_name}, {race_name}, {race_date}, {finish_time}, {position}, {total_finishers}, {organiser_name}, {certificate_link}, {join_link}. A “Sent via Bield” footer is always appended. A live preview shows how the email will look.
4. Upload results with an email column To reach non-Bield runners by email, your results CSV must include an email column. Without it, those runners will be in the “no contact” group and skipped.
5. Publish results Results tab → tap Publish. This makes results visible to Bield members matched to their results.
6. Send certificates Results tab → Send certificates. Finishers are grouped: in-app, by email, no contact. You can tweak the subject/body for this batch only. Certificates render in your browser and deliver in batches — keep the tab open. A summary shows sent / failed / skipped at the end.
7. Resend if needed Open Send certificates again at any time to resend to anyone who was previously failed or skipped.

The runner's experience

Using the Epona 100 Miler example: Alex Morgan finishes, the organiser uploads and publishes results, then sends certificates.

1. Alex receives an in-app notification “Your Epona 100 Miler finisher certificate is ready.” A push notification fires at the same time if notifications are enabled.
2. Alex opens the engagement On the Epona 100 Miler engagement page, a Download finisher certificate button has appeared. It wasn't there before results were published.
3. Alex downloads the PDF The PDF opens directly — it's the certificate shown in the example above, personalised with Alex's name, finish time, position and the race route watermark.

If Alex wasn't matched to a Bield account

If Alex isn't on Bield but their email is in the results CSV:

1. Alex receives an email: subject from the organiser's template, body including their finish time and a download link.
2. The download link is valid for 30 days. Alex opens it; the PDF downloads directly.
3. The email also includes a {join_link} block inviting Alex to join Bield.

Delivery channels explained

Certificate outcomes for the organiser

Common questions