Pacers and crewers on Bield
Pacers run alongside a competitor for a leg of a race. Crewers meet the runner at checkpoints — usually with food, kit, and the encouragement that gets people to the finish. Core access is free for both roles; Premium is a paid upgrade that adds extra visibility and features.
Arms-length arrangement. Any expenses, rates or terms are agreed directly between you and the runner. Bield makes the introduction — it never handles payment between users. Profiles can signal “open to discussing expenses” so runners know before they contact you, but the arrangement is yours.
Prerequisites
- A Bield account
- The Pacer and/or Crewer role toggled on (Me → Your roles)
- A completed profile — a setup wizard runs the first time you enable the role
- Your coverage areas set (Me → Areas you cover) so organisers searching for nearby support can find you
Setting up as a pacer
- Enable the Pacer role Go to Me → Your roles and toggle Pacer on. A setup wizard runs automatically the first time.
- Complete your pacer profile The wizard steps through: pace style, ITRA performance index, night/technical experience, and your key qualifications. Everything you set affects how runners find you.
- Set your coverage areas Me → Areas you cover — draw or select the regions you're willing to travel to. These appear on your profile and control the “Inside my zones” race filter.
- Set your availability Add available date ranges from your profile so runners know when you're free before reaching out.
What goes on your pacer profile
| Field | What it affects | Verified? |
|---|---|---|
| Pace style | Front / middle / back of the pack — runners filter by this | Self-declared |
| ITRA performance index | Trail running credibility signal (0–1000 scale) | Self-declared |
| Night pacing | Whether you're comfortable pacing overnight legs | Self-declared |
| Technical terrain | Scrambling, exposed ridgeline, navigation-heavy courses | Self-declared |
| Altitude experience | Relevant for mountain ultras | Self-declared |
| Guide running / adaptive pacing | Specialist capability for runners with visual impairments | Self-declared |
| Notable races | Your race history — builds credibility | Self-declared; Strava verification available via trust score |
| Icebreakers | A handful of chips that show your character before a runner reaches out | n/a |
| Expenses | “Open to discussing expenses” toggle — signals to runners up front | n/a |
| Qualifications | Wilderness first aid, outdoor leadership, environment experience | Self-declared; verifiable via trust score |
Qualifications on your pacer profile are self-declared. Verified qualifications (background checks, first aid, coaching certs) live in your trust score, not your pacer profile — but runners can see your trust score alongside your profile.
Setting up as a crewer
- Enable the Crewer role Go to Me → Your roles and toggle Crewer on.
- Complete your crewer profile The setup wizard captures your areas, availability and whether you have a vehicle.
- Post a crewing offering on a race Unlike pacers, crewers post a race-specific offering (not a general-purpose profile). The offering includes: a short summary, whether you know the route, previous crewing experience, whether you have a vehicle and how many seats, how far you are from the start, and whether you're open to discussing expenses.
Finding races that need you
As a support-role user, the Races page reframes itself: “Find races to offer your services to.” Every race card carries an inline offer button for your eligible roles.
Useful filters when searching for races to support
- Inside my zones — races inside your declared coverage areas
- Pacers allowed / crew allowed — only shows races that accept your role
- Date range — match your availability
- Near me radius — keep travel manageable
Races looking for pacers / crewers
Some race pages have an Offer your services section where you can apply directly. This opens a short application wizard — you'll describe your availability, which leg you can cover (pacers) or which checkpoints you can reach (crewers), and anything else relevant.
Making an offer and the engagement flow
- Find the race and open its page Check that pacers (or crew) are allowed — the race page states the policy.
- Submit your offer Tap “Offer to pace this race” (or crew). The application wizard asks which leg, your notes, and anything else the organiser needs.
- Runner or organiser responds The runner (or organiser for crew-heavy events) sees your offer and can accept or decline. You'll receive a notification either way.
- Commit When both sides confirm, the engagement status moves to committed. Your engagement now appears in Me → My races under the Pacing (or Crewing) tab.
- Race day You'll see the runner's bib number and checkpoint ETAs from their pace plan (if they've shared it). For crewers, your engagement shows which checkpoints have crew access.
Offer and engagement statuses
| Status | Meaning | What triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| Approached | Initial contact made but no commitment yet | You or the runner made first contact |
| Willing | You've said you can do it; waiting for runner confirmation | You accepted; runner to confirm |
| Committed | Both sides confirmed — you're on the team | Runner (or organiser) confirms your offer |
| Standby | Reserve position — still connected but stepped back | Either party moved to reserve |
| Declined | Offer declined | Runner, organiser or you declined |
| Withdrawn | Withdrew after committing | Either party withdrew post-commitment |
After the race
- Confirmed gigs are recorded in your race CV and appear on your profile.
- Reviews from runners you've paced or crewed build your reputation on Bield.
- Your completed engagements appear in the Pacing or Crewing tab of Engagements, giving you a history of every race you've supported.
Availability calendar
Set your availability windows so runners and organisers know when you're free before they reach out. Your availability feeds into the Opportunities digest and shows on your public profile.
Access: Me → Availability
- Add a general availability window as your baseline (for example, every weekend).
- Add per-period overrides to block out specific dates when you're not available.
- Runners and organisers browsing for support can filter by availability before reaching out — keeping your inbox relevant.
Pacer & crewer opportunities
Browse open pacing and crewing slots that match your availability and declared areas. The feed surfaces races where a runner or organiser is actively looking for support and you fit their criteria.
Access: Me → Find → Opportunities
- Results are filtered to your coverage areas and availability by default.
- A monthly digest email goes out with new matches — so even if you don't check in regularly, new opportunities reach you.
Browse directories
Both the pacers and crewers directories are publicly visible — potential clients (runners, organisers) can find you without being logged in.
| Directory | URL | Visibility | Filters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browse Pacers | /pacers | Public | Race, specialism, availability |
| Browse Crewers | /crewers | Public | Race, local area, availability |
Your listing appears automatically once you complete your profile. You can set your profile to Private from your role settings if you only want to work with runners you already know.
Crew leapfrog tracker
The crew leapfrog tracker is a live race-day view showing your runner's predicted arrival time at each crew-accessible checkpoint. It lets you plan where to be and when, without guessing.
Access: race page → Crew ETAs section
- ETAs are based on the runner's pace plan. The runner must have shared their pace plan for ETAs to show — if they haven't, the section will indicate no plan is available.
- ETAs update as the race progresses and split data comes in from checkpoints.
- Only crew-accessible checkpoints appear — checkpoints the organiser has marked as crew access points.
Volunteer certificate
After completing a pacing or crewing gig, you receive a downloadable volunteer participation certificate recording your contribution to the race.
- Available after the event completes. Go to your engagement and look for the certificate download button.
- You can also download it directly from the email link the system sends after the event.
- Certificates record the race name, your role, and the date.
Crew playbook generator
[Premium] — The runner needs an active Premium subscription for this feature.
When a runner has set up a full pace plan with crew points assigned, Bield auto-generates a printable crew playbook covering everything the crew needs for race day.
What's in the playbook
- Pacer assignments per leg
- Crew ETAs at each access point
- Drop bag locations and contents
- Emergency contacts for the race
The playbook generates automatically — there's nothing to set up on your end. You'll see a Download crew playbook button on your engagement once the runner has shared it.
Volunteer location search
[Premium] — Hidden from free users. Useful for organisers looking for support near a race location, and for you to verify you appear in coverage results for your declared areas.
The volunteer location search lets you (or a Premium organiser) drop a pin on a map and find pacers, crewers, and marshals who cover that geographic area.
Access: /volunteers
As a pacer or crewer, use it to check that your declared coverage areas are placing you correctly in search results for races in your region.
Audio cheers
Crew and supporters can record and send audio cheers to runners during a live race. The cheer delivers as a notification when the runner reaches the relevant checkpoint.
Access: race page → Crew ETAs section
- Open the Crew ETAs section on the race page Find the checkpoint you want to target.
- Tap Record a cheer Record a short audio clip (a few seconds is plenty).
- Send The clip is queued and delivered to the runner as a push notification when they reach that checkpoint.
Common questions
Do I charge for pacing or crewing?
That's entirely between you and the runner. Bield's profile has an “Open to discussing expenses” toggle so runners know before reaching out, but what you agree and how you handle it is your arrangement. Bield never processes payment between users.
A race doesn't show an “Offer” button. Why?
Organisers control whether pacers and crew are permitted. If they've not enabled pacers (or crew), those offer buttons don't appear. Check the race page's rules section for the policy.
Can I be both a pacer and a crewer on the same race?
You can hold both roles on Bield, but you'd typically offer one or the other for a given race — the two functions are distinct and organisers/runners look for them separately.
How do I appear on the public pacers directory?
Set up your pacer profile at Me → Your roles → Pacer and complete the profile wizard. Once complete, you appear automatically on /pacers. If you only want to work with runners you already know, you can set your profile to private from your role settings and you'll be removed from the public listing.
Can I set a recurring availability block?
Yes. From Me → Availability, add a general availability window (for example, every weekend) as your baseline. Then add per-period overrides for any specific dates you're not available. The general window is your default; overrides take precedence on the dates they cover.
What is the crew leapfrog tracker?
It's a live race-day view showing your runner's predicted arrival time at each crew access point. Access it from the race page → Crew ETAs section. ETAs are based on the runner's pace plan — if they haven't shared a plan yet, no ETAs will be shown.