Race organisers — frequently asked questions

From the Bield app, go to Me → My events → Create event. Fill in the race name, date, start location, distance, elevation gain, terrain type, and pacing/crewing policy. Upload your GPX file for the course. Save as a draft first — the race is not publicly visible until you publish it.

Runners see: course map and elevation profile, distance and elevation gain, start time and cutoff hours, terrain type, checkpoints with their facilities (water, food, first aid, drop bags, pacer join and crew meet flags), mandatory kit list, pacing and crewing policy, external links (your race website, tracker, social media), race rules, and past editions with results. Make your race page as complete as possible — it is your shop window to the Bield community.

In the race editor, scroll to the Course section and tap Upload GPX. Bield generates the interactive course map and elevation profile automatically from the file. Replace the GPX at any time if the route changes — runners who have added the race will see the updated course.

In the race editor, under Support policy, toggle Pacers allowed and / or Crew allowed. These flags make the race appear in filtered searches by runners and support teams. You can then fine-tune at the checkpoint level — designating which checkpoints are pacer join points and which are crew access points.

In the race editor under Registration, paste the URL of your entry page (Eventbrite, Enter Now, Race Roster, or your own site). This creates the Register on organiser's site button that runners see on the race page. Bield does not process payments — all entry is on your external system.

In the race editor under External links, add your GPS tracking provider's URL. It appears on the race page as an external link button. Runners and spectators tap it to open your tracker. This is separate from Bield's own position-sharing feature.

Yes. In the race editor under Mandatory kit, add each required item as a line. Runners see the full list on the race page. Keep this up to date with your race's regulations — Bield does not verify kit compliance; that is your responsibility on the day.

A race is in draft until you tap Publish in the race editor. Published races appear in the public Races browse screen. To take a race off the public listing (for example if you need to make major changes), use Unpublish — it reverts to draft. Runners who have already added the race will still see it in their engagements.

In the race editor, go to Checkpoints and tap Add checkpoint. Enter the checkpoint name, distance from start, elevation, cutoff time, and the facilities available at that point. Repeat for each checkpoint on the course. The order you enter them should match the course direction.

For each checkpoint you can flag: water available, food available (with optional menu), first aid, sleep area, drop bags accepted, pacer may join here, crew may meet here. Each flag maps to an icon that runners see in the checkpoint list on the race page.

After flagging Food available on a checkpoint, tap Add menu items. Enter each item by name and indicate whether it is water, food, or another category. You can also add dietary flags per item — vegan, gluten-free, etc. Runners see item names and dietary flags on the race page. Carb and sodium values are not shown to runners in the app.

On the checkpoint, toggle on Drop bags accepted. This marks the checkpoint with a bag icon 🎒 on the race page and map. Runners and their crew can see exactly which checkpoints accept drop bags. You can add notes about bag collection procedures in the checkpoint description.

Toggle on Pacer may join for that checkpoint. This tells pacers and runners that pacing is permitted from this point. Only checkpoints with this flag are valid pacer join points — pacers joining between designated checkpoints breaks your race rules on Bield.

Toggle on Crew may meet for that checkpoint. This is the only official signal to crewers that they are permitted to wait there. Crewers see only crew-flagged checkpoints as access points on their engagement.

Yes. When editing a checkpoint, enter the cutoff time — the clock time by which a runner must pass to remain in the race. These individual cutoffs are shown to runners and their teams on the race page, alongside the overall race cutoff.

Publish your race and toggle on Seeking volunteers in the race editor. A volunteer prompt appears on your race page. Marshals with your area in their coverage zones can find and apply. You can also search for marshals by coverage area from your race management dashboard and send direct invitations.

From your race management dashboard, open the marshal's application and tap Assign to post. Select the checkpoint from your list. The marshal's engagement is updated with their assigned location and any briefing notes you add.

Use the Messages tab in your race editor to send a broadcast to all assigned volunteers. They receive it as an in-app notification. For detailed briefing packs, attach a link to a PDF on your race website — Bield messages are text-based.

In the race editor, toggle Split timing enabled on the race, then enable it for individual checkpoints under Timing point. Marshals assigned to those checkpoints will see a timing interface on their engagement. Their recorded splits feed directly into runners' results and engagement pages after the race.

You will receive a notification when a marshal changes their status to Withdrawn. From the race dashboard, you can search for replacement marshals in the same coverage area, send new invitations, or reassign existing marshals to cover the post. Address this as early as possible before race day.

From your race management dashboard, go to Results and upload a CSV. The CSV must include at minimum: bib number, finish time, and status (finished, DNF, DNS, DQ). An email address column allows Bield to send certificates to non-member finishers. After uploading, tap Publish results — this is what triggers certificate generation and runner notifications. Uploading without publishing keeps results in draft.

The required columns are: bib, finish_time (HH:MM:SS), status (finished / dnf / dns / dq), and optionally email, name, position, and gender_position. Download the template from your race management dashboard to avoid formatting errors. Extra columns are ignored.

In the race editor, scroll to Certificates and toggle Finisher certificates enabled. This must be on before you publish results — Bield generates certificates at publish time. If you enable it after publishing, re-publish the results to trigger certificate generation.

Bield members matched to a result receive an in-app notification and push alert, plus a download button on their engagement. Non-members whose email appears in the results CSV receive an email with a link valid for 30 days. Runners with no Bield account and no email in the CSV do not receive a certificate — they must ask you to add their email and resend.

Yes. From the results management view in your race dashboard, locate the runner and tap Resend certificate. This triggers a new email send (for non-members) or re-notifies the Bield member. Useful for runners who missed the initial notification or whose email link has expired.

Certificates are generated as PDFs. They include: race name, edition year, race distance, runner name, finish time, finish position, total finishers, and the Bield wordmark. For full details on layout and customisation options, see the Finisher certificates guide.

Yes. Edit the runner's record in the results management view, make the correction, and save. If a certificate has already been generated with incorrect data, tap Regenerate certificate after saving — this creates a new PDF with the corrected details and notifies the runner.

Go to the Messages tab in your race editor. Type your message and tap Send to all runners. Everyone who has added the race (regardless of engagement status — Interested, Registered, or Active) receives it as an in-app notification under the Organiser announcements category. Runners can manage this preference in their notification settings.

Yes. In the Messages tab, filter the recipient list by engagement status before sending. Choose Registered only to send to runners who have confirmed a place, rather than everyone who has added the race.

Yes. In the Messages tab, select Volunteers / marshals as the recipient group. This sends only to people with an assigned marshal engagement for your race.

Broadcast messages are plain text and have a generous limit designed for race-day updates. For long briefings (e.g. a multi-section weather update), keep the in-app message short and include a link to a fuller document on your race website.

Check the latest version of the race editor — scheduled sends may be available. If not, send the message manually at the time you want it to go out. For time-critical race-day communications, manual sends give you the most control.

The race management dashboard shows your live race view: assigned marshals at their posts, runners with active engagements, and split timing data as it comes in. If external tracking is enabled, link your tracker for a map view. Use the Marshal dashboard to see which posts have checked in.

Use the Messages tab to send a broadcast — the same flow as pre-race, but runners receive it as a push notification during the event (if they have push enabled). For safety-critical comms, also use your own race radio network and marshal chain — do not rely solely on Bield notifications.

From the race management dashboard, search the runner by bib number and update their status to DNF (Did Not Finish) or Withdrawn. This is provisional — finalize all statuses in the results CSV after the race when you have the full picture.

Pacers and crewers carry their Bield engagement as a record of their role and assignment. There is no formal Bield check-in step for pacers or crewers — introduce your own check-in process (e.g. marshal sign-off) as part of your race operations. Confirm the detail with your team in the pre-race briefing.

Their post will show as unmanned in your marshal dashboard. Use Bield messaging to contact them directly. In parallel, activate your contingency plan — reposition another marshal, call in a reserve, or close the post and rely on runners' self-navigation. Always have a backup plan for critical timing or welfare posts.

From the race management dashboard, go to Photos and tap Upload photos. Uploaded photos go through an approval step before appearing publicly in the gallery on the race page. Approved photos are visible to all visitors — including people who are not logged in to Bield.

From your race management dashboard, go to Past editions → Add edition. Enter the year, date and any results you want to publish. Past editions appear on the race page and let runners see the race history before deciding to enter. You can upload results CSVs for past editions even if no certificates will be sent.

Yes. From the race management dashboard, open the previous edition and tap Duplicate as new edition. This copies the course, checkpoints, facilities, kit list and policy settings into a draft. Update the date, any changed details, and publish when ready. GPX files and checkpoint cutoffs typically need reviewing each year.