For runners

Getting started as a runner

Runner is the default role on Bield — it's selected automatically when you sign up. You can add pacer, crewer, marshal or coach roles later from Me → Your roles and hold them all at once.

Prerequisites

• A Bield account (sign up at app.bield.run).
• The Runner role enabled (default; check Me → Your roles).
• Per-race consent: each time you add a race, Bield asks once for consent to associate your data with that event.

Your account page — Me

The Me screen is your hub. From here you can access:

• Profile, handle and subscription tier (Free / Premium)
• Units of measure — distance, elevation, temperature, weight, speed
• My races — your active and upcoming engagements across all roles
• Your roles — toggle Runner / Pacer / Crewer / Marshal / Coach on or off
• Trust score, race photos, notifications, privacy & data, billing
• My coach — manage your coach link (see Coaches)

Runner workflow — from finding a race to the certificate

1. Find a race Browse Races — map or card list. Filter by distance, elevation, terrain, date, location, pacers/crew allowed, and more. Star races to favourite them; a 14-day warning fires when registration closes on a favourite.
2. Add to my races Open the race page and tap Add to my races. Bield asks for per-race consent first. This creates your engagement — your planning workspace for the event.
3. Register on the organiser's site Click the Register on organiser's site link from the race page. Actual entry and payment always happen on the organiser's own site. Come back to Bield for everything else.
4. Find a pacer, crewer, or coach From your engagement (or Me → Find), browse pacer and crewer profiles. Send a connection request or respond to their offer on the race. Invite Supporters via a personal non-forwardable link from your engagement. Search for a coach from Me → My coach.
5. Plan race day Use the Pace calculator with the race's GPX file: get split tables, checkpoint ETAs, crew meet points, a sunrise/sunset timeline, weather outlook and a fuelling plan. Share your bib number with your crew from your engagement.
6. Race day On race day, your engagement shows your stage strip. Advance through stages as the race progresses. Your crew sees checkpoint ETAs and your bib. If the organiser has enabled split timing, your checkpoint passings are recorded automatically.
7. Results When the organiser publishes results, your engagement shows your finish position, time and total finishers.
8. Finisher certificate If the organiser has certificates enabled and results are published, a Download finisher certificate button appears on your engagement. If you weren't matched to a Bield account, you'll receive the certificate by email (link valid 30 days).

Finding a race

Go to Races. The screen shows a map alongside a card list (tabs on mobile).

Filters available

Race card information

• Date, location, distance and elevation gain
• Difficulty rating
• Entry status: Open, Waitlist, Sold out, Closed — with a “X places left” nudge when places are short
• Terrain type and amenities
• Featured pacers on the race

Save any set of filters as a saved search to re-run it quickly later.

Favouriting a race

Star a race to add it to your favourites list. Bield shows a warning banner when a favourite's registration closes within 14 days. You don't need to “Add to my races” to favourite — it's a lightweight bookmark.

Discover feed

The Discover feed (app.bield.run/discover) offers an editorially curated view of race discovery — featured races, upcoming highlights and seasonal picks. It's a good starting point when you don't yet have a specific event in mind.

Advanced search & saved search alerts

For the full filter set, navigate directly to app.bield.run/search. From there you can save any search and enable an email digest so you're notified when new races matching your criteria are listed. Free for all accounts.

Explore a race in 3D

From any race page, tap the 3D button to open the interactive 3D terrain viewer — a MapLibre GL model rendered from elevation data, great for getting a feel for the climbs before race day. From the 3D viewer you can also launch the Cinematic flythrough (Beta): a Cesium-powered animated flythrough of the full route.

Race Cheer Wall

Each race has a public Cheer Wall at /race/[id]/wall. Spectators and supporters can post text and audio cheers during a live race. No account required to leave a cheer.

Entering a race

What the buttons on a race page mean

What a race page shows you

• Course map and elevation profile
• Checkpoints with facilities per checkpoint (water, food, first aid, sleep area, drop bag, pacer join point, crew meet point)
• Pacing and crewing policy
• Mandatory kit list
• Race rules and cutoffs
• Past editions and results
• External links (organiser website, tracker, Instagram…)
• Registered Bield pacers offering their services

Club runs and recurring events

For club runs you can RSVP Just this one or Every week. A standing RSVP automatically adds you to each future occurrence of the series without needing to RSVP individually.

Finding a pacer or crewer

Browsing profiles

From Me → Find (or the prompts on your engagement), pick a race, then browse:

• Pacers — filter by pace style (front / middle / back of the pack), night pacing, technical terrain, altitude experience, guide-running experience, adaptive pacing, expenses flag, ITRA index, notable races and areas they cover.
• Crewers — filter by areas they cover, availability, whether they have a vehicle, how many seats, and whether they're open to expenses.

Offers on your race

Pacers and crewers can offer their services directly on a race page. Check your engagement for incoming offers — they'll show up with the person's profile summary and a respond button.

Inviting a Supporter

A Supporter is a friend or family member joining your race team — not a pacer or crewer. From your engagement, tap Invite a Supporter to generate a personal invite link. The link is non-forwardable — only the first person who opens it can claim the invitation; you can revoke and regenerate it at any time from your engagement.

When they open the link and sign in (or create a free Bield account), they appear on your engagement as your Supporter. What they see:

• Your bib number (shared automatically)
• Your checkpoint ETAs from the pace calculator (if you've set a plan)
• Live checkpoint progress when split timing is enabled
• Shout-outs — they can send you a short message that queues for delivery at a specific checkpoint or race stage. Shout-outs at checkpoints you haven't yet reached are held and delivered when you pass them. Live-tracking shout-outs are on the roadmap.

Engagements

An engagement is your workspace for one race in one role. When you add a race as a runner, Bield creates a Running engagement. If you also offer to pace a different race, that's a separate Pacing engagement.

What's on the engagement page

• Race header (name, date, distance)
• A stage strip you advance as you progress through the race lifecycle
• Your bib number (shared with your crew)
• Notes
• Your crew and pacer slots, with each person's name, status and assigned leg
• Supporters (see Supporter section for what they can see)
• After the race: your result and certificate download

Engagement status flow

Support-role statuses (pacers, crewers)

People you've connected with or who have offered to support you appear on your engagement with their own status:

Race day

For you on the day

• Your engagement's stage strip advances as race day events happen.
• Your crew can see your bib number and your checkpoint ETAs from the pace calculator — share your engagement with them before the race.
• If the organiser has split timing enabled, your time at each checkpoint gate is automatically captured and displayed in your engagement after the race.
• Marshal posts are staffed by volunteers — if you're running and your committed pacer hasn't arrived, marshals can see the organiser's call-for-help pings in your area.

Your crew's experience

• Committed crewers see which checkpoints they can access (crew meet facilities flagged by the organiser).
• Drop-bag checkpoints are clearly marked so your crew knows where your bag will be.
• Your bib number is shared automatically to all committed crew.

Results and finisher certificates

Prerequisites for receiving your certificate

How you receive your certificate

For full details about what goes on a certificate and how organiser sends work, see the Race day Finisher certificates guide.

Result statuses

Run Calculator — pace, splits & crew planning

The Run Calculator at app.bield.run/pace-calc is open to everyone — no account needed. Drop a GPX file or load a race via ?raceId= and get predicted splits, pacer handoffs, crew points and a full ETA table. It uses a grade-adjusted pace (GAP) model with weather and terrain adjustments.

Interactive route map

The calculator includes a full MapLibre GL route map with:

• Measure tool and draggable waypoint pins
• Basemap toggle: Outdoor / Satellite / OS
• 3D preview button to open the terrain viewer
• Drag pacer pins to reposition handoff points directly on the map

Top-10 climbs & descents

Bield auto-detects the top-10 significant climbs and descents on your route, ranked by difficulty. Each segment shows the GAP-expected pace so you can plan where your pace will naturally slow and where you can recover.

Custom waypoints

Drag “Custom N” waypoints and snap them to any point on the route. Each waypoint has a per-waypoint dropdown showing:

• ETA (time and duration from start)
• Average pace from start
• Required pace to reach the next waypoint on schedule
• Distance and altitude gain/loss to this point

Custom waypoints are free for all users.

Crew points

Crew access points are auto-seeded from the race data and are fully draggable. Each crew point shows ETA, pace and altitude detail. Free for all users.

Collapsible interval markers

Toggle 5 km split markers on or off to declutter the route map when you only need the checkpoint-level view. Free.

Shareable plan link

Generate a shareable link to your full pace plan — splits, pacer legs, waypoints and crew points. Share it with your team before the race so everyone has the same numbers. Recipients reach a token-gated claim page. Free.

Personal Factor Sensitivity Sliders [Premium]

Fine-tune the GAP model with per-factor sliders from 0–200%: heat, rain, wind, humidity, darkness and gradient. [Premium] unlocks the full continuous sliders; free users get a binary on/off toggle per factor. Your factor settings are persisted to your profile.

Live weather forecast integration [Premium]

Premium users can auto-fill weather from the Open-Meteo live forecast for the race date and location, or from a 5-year climate average. Free users set weather manually using a 5-option picker (temperature band, likely conditions).

Schedule flexibility [Premium]

Add time or distance buffers to your plan — useful for conservative planning or races with variable sections. [Premium] gives full control: both time and distance buffers plus percentage-based adjustments. Free users can add a simple fixed buffer.

Per-leg fuel breakdown [Premium]

See fuel needs (carbohydrate, fluid and sodium) split per pacer or crew leg — so each person on your team knows exactly what to carry to each handoff. [Premium] only. Free users see a per-checkpoint aggregate in the fuelling planner.

Plan vs actual analysis [Premium]

After your race, link a Strava activity to compare your actual finish time and pace against your Bield plan. See where you banked time, where you fell off schedule and what that cost you. [Premium] only.

Working with a coach

If you have a coach on Bield, they can send you a pace plan suggestion: target elapsed times at each checkpoint of an upcoming race. You'll see it on Me → My coach, grouped by race, and can accept or decline it. See the Coaches guide for the full picture.

Fuelling & hydration planner

The fuelling and hydration planner is built into the pace calculator. It produces per-checkpoint estimates based on two variables:

• Distance — accumulated km from start to that checkpoint, used to estimate carbohydrate and calorie needs per hour.
• Temperature — forecast or historical temperature at race time, used to scale fluid and sodium needs. Higher temperatures increase sweat-rate estimates.

Outputs include:

• Carbohydrate (g/hr) and total carbohydrate (g) target per leg
• Sodium (mg/hr) estimate
• Fluid intake target (ml) per leg
• A product picker — you can select gels, bars, drinks and real-food items and the planner adjusts quantities to hit your targets
• A printable per-checkpoint fuelling table to share with your crew

How to use it

1. Open the pace calculator From the race page or from Me → My races → [your engagement] → Plan.
2. Set your target time and temperature The planner auto-populates temperature from the race's forecast. You can override it (e.g. to model a hot-day worst case).
3. Choose products (optional) Select your preferred gels, bars, or drinks from the product list. The planner calculates how many of each you need per checkpoint.
4. Review and share The checkpoint-by-checkpoint fuelling table can be exported as PDF or shared with your crew via the share-pack.

Race-plan POIs & GPX export

Your race plan isn't just splits and fuelling — it includes private points of interest (POIs) that only you (and the people you share with) can see. Examples: “fuelling cache at the gate”, “rest area — sleeping bag in drop bag”, “poles start here”.

Adding race-plan POIs

1. Open your engagement and go to Plan → Route The route map is interactive. Long-press or right-click any point on the map to drop a POI pin.
2. Label and type the POI Give it a name and choose a type: Fuelling cache, Rest area, Poles pickup, Crew note, or Custom. Private POIs are never visible on the public race page.
3. Save The POI appears on your plan map and on the checkpoint ETAs timeline at the relevant distance point.

GPX export with device waypoints

You can export a GPX file of the race route including your private POIs as named waypoints. This file loads onto a Garmin, Suunto, Coros or any GPX-capable device and shows your fuelling stops, rest points and crew notes directly on your device map.

1. Engagement → Plan → Export GPX Choose whether to include: race route only, race route + official checkpoints, or race route + checkpoints + your private POIs.
2. Download the .gpx file Save to your device or transfer directly to your GPS watch via the manufacturer's sync tool.

Supporters

A Supporter is a friend, family member, or spectator who wants to follow your race from the sidelines — someone you've invited personally, not a pacer or crewer. The Supporter role is designed for people who aren't running with you but want to know what's happening and cheer you on.

What a Supporter can see

What a Supporter cannot see

• Your personal information (address, date of birth, medical notes, dietary info, emergency contacts)
• Your private race-plan POIs (unless you explicitly share them)
• Other runners' data

Shout-outs

Supporters can send shout-outs — short messages (up to 200 characters) timed to a specific point in your race. A shout-out at Checkpoint 3 is held until you actually pass Checkpoint 3, then delivered as a notification. Shout-outs can be edited or deleted before they fire.

Offline race-pack & data usage

Bield can save a full offline race-pack to your device before the race so you can access everything — the route, checkpoints, pace plan, fuelling table, marshal contacts, and your private POIs — without any mobile signal.

Downloading the offline pack

1. Engagement → Plan → Download offline pack Tap the button. The app saves: course map tiles, elevation profile, checkpoint list, pace plan, fuelling plan, and your private POIs.
2. Map tiles download on Wi-Fi only by default To protect your mobile data, map tiles (the largest part of the pack) only download over Wi-Fi. You can override this in Me → Settings → Data usage → Download maps on mobile data.
3. The pack stays available offline Once downloaded, the pack is accessible even in areas with no signal. It does not expire until after the race.

Connection-aware sync

When you're on course and have intermittent signal, Bield uses connection-aware sync:

• Race data (your stage, split notifications, shout-outs) syncs whenever signal returns.
• Media (photos, large downloads) only syncs on Wi-Fi unless you've enabled mobile-data sync.
• Your offline pack always takes priority — the app never blocks on a network request if local data is available.

Notification centre & preferences

Bield sends notifications for race activity — team updates, certificate delivery, registration reminders, and race-day events. You control all of these per notification type.

In-app notification centre

Tap the bell icon (top-right on any main screen) to open the notification centre. All notifications are listed in reverse chronological order with unread badges. Tap any notification to go directly to the relevant page (engagement, race, suggestion, etc.).

Setting your preferences

Go to Me → Notifications. You can toggle each type on or off:

Push notification delivery (device-level) is also controlled from Me → Notifications. In-app notifications are always stored in the notification centre even if you've turned off push.

Races for me

Races for me is a personalised feed of upcoming races Bield thinks match your profile. It sits alongside the main race browse on the Races screen (“For you” tab).

What signals Bield uses

• Races you've run before (distance, terrain, elevation)
• Races in your favourites or saved searches
• Your coverage area (if set)
• Races with upcoming registration windows
• Recurring-race series you've entered previously — when a new edition is announced you'll be notified (if recurring-race notifications are on)

Favourites and Remind me

• Favourite (star) — lightweight bookmark; fires a 14-day registration-closing warning. You don't need to “Add to my races” to favourite.
• Remind me — sets a one-off notification at a date you choose (e.g. “remind me 6 months before this race”). Useful for far-future events you're considering but can't commit to yet.

Opportunities

The Opportunities section of Races for me shows races where pacing or crewing requests match your profile (if you have those roles enabled). You can accept or contact the runner directly.

Display units — choose once, see everywhere

Bield lets you set your preferred measurement units once in your profile and applies them throughout: race search results, race pages, the pace calculator, finisher certificates, and anywhere a distance, elevation, speed or temperature appears.

How to set your units

Go to Me → Settings → Units & display (or Me → Preferences depending on your app version). You can set:

Changes take effect immediately and are applied across every page that shows numerical data. Anonymous visitors (not logged in) see metric defaults.

Checkpoint information — menus & drop bags

Bield gives you detailed checkpoint information before race day so you can plan your nutrition and kit strategy without having to chase the organiser for the aid-station list.

Aid-station menu

If the organiser has published a menu for a checkpoint, you will see it by opening the race page and expanding the checkpoint row. Each menu item shows:

• Item name (e.g. “Flat Coke”, “Peanut butter sandwich”)
• Type: water 💧 or food 🍌
• Dietary flags (Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Dairy-free) where applicable
• Approximate carbohydrate (g) and sodium (mg) per serving, if the organiser has entered them

Not all checkpoints will have a full menu — it is the organiser’s choice whether to publish one. If no menu is shown, the facilities strip (water droplet, food icon) still tells you the basic provision at that checkpoint.

Drop bags

A drop-bag icon in the checkpoint facilities strip means the organiser has confirmed that runners may leave a drop bag at this checkpoint. Check the organiser’s own race information for drop-bag rules (collection times, size limits, labelling). Bield shows whether a drop bag is allowed; the logistics are set by the organiser.

Runner profile & stats

Your Me hub gives you a full picture of your running life — past races, personal bests, a timeline of your journey, and tools to plan where you're headed next.

Stats dashboard

Go to Me → Stats (or app.bield.run/me/stats). Your dashboard shows:

• Total races, total distance and total elevation
• Average pace across all logged races
• Personal bests by distance band (e.g. 50km, 100km, marathon)
• Year-on-year comparison of race count, distance and elevation
• ITRA leaderboard position (if linked)

Journey timeline

Me → Journey shows a longitudinal view of you as a runner over time: year-by-year races, distance and elevation, and how your training load has shifted. Good for spotting multi-year patterns.

Race CV

Me → Race CV lists your complete race history grouped by year — combining imported races (from ITRA or Strava history) and manually entered events. Use it as a reference for entries, sponsorship applications or just looking back at where you've been.

Import review

When Bield stages imports from ITRA or Strava, they appear in Me → Import review for you to confirm before they're added to your Race CV. Nothing is added to your public profile without your approval.

Race history

Me → Race history is the full list view of all your past races with results, bib numbers and any amounts paid (where entered).

Dream Board

Me → Dream Board is your bucket-list board of aspirational races — events you want to do one day. Each entry links through to the race page and from there you can build a Race Path to work up to it.

Race Path Planner

Me → Race Path: set a goal race (e.g. your first 100-miler) and Bield suggests a sequenced stepping-stone path of intermediate races to build you toward it progressively.

Reel Studio

Me → Reel (or app.bield.run/reel) — a client-side race highlight movie maker. Combine your race photos, stats and route into a short shareable clip. Everything renders on-device using Canvas + MediaRecorder; no file is uploaded to make the reel. Free.

Personal photo gallery

Me → Photos is your gallery of race photos. Sources:

• Photos tagged to your bib by event photographers
• Photos you upload directly
• Photos synced from Strava

From the gallery you can tag, triage and approve which photos appear on your public profile.

Analytics & reports

Me → Reports is your personal analytics studio. Available views include race spend, distance mix by terrain, a map of everywhere you've raced, performance trend, predicted-vs-actual comparisons, and a soreness body map. Free.

Calendar subscription

From the Me screen, tap the webcal widget to subscribe your Bield race schedule to Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or any calendar app that supports webcal feeds. Your upcoming races appear as events with date, location and race details. Free.

International help cards

Navigate directly to app.bield.run/help-cards for offline-first multilingual phrase cards covering 51 scenarios across 42 languages — useful for international races where you need to communicate at checkpoints or with marshals. No login needed and works fully offline.

Race recap & social

Once your race is done, Bield has several tools to help you reflect, share and improve.

Shareable race recap

After completing a race, Bield auto-generates a shareable recap page at /recap/[id]. This pulls together your result, splits, route and key stats into a single link you can share with friends or post on social. The link is visible from your engagement when the artifact exists.

Post-race review

From your engagement after the race, tap Leave a review to rate soreness per body area using the body map, write a race review and log your overall experience. Reviews are visible to other Bield runners researching that race. Free; unlocked post-race.

Participation certificates

If the organiser has participation certificates enabled, a download button appears on your engagement after the race. These are separate from finisher certificates — they confirm you took part regardless of result status.

Failure pattern analysis

Bield analyses your race history (DNFs and slower-than-predicted finishes) to surface actionable pattern insights — for example, if late-race blow-ups correlate with heat or specific distance bands. Free. Visible in Me → Reports.

Voice reflection nudges

After a race, Bield may send a voice note prompt — a short audio nudge asking how it went. Tap to record a quick reflection. These are stored privately in your journal. Free.

Predicted finish time

On every race page, a predicted finish time is shown as a CompareToHistoryCard — an ML-based estimate based on the course profile and your race history. Free.

Squad & relationships

Running is better with people. Your squad tools live under Me and let you manage the people you train and race with.

Squad

Me → Squad (or app.bield.run/me/squad) — your running squad. Accept or decline squad requests from other runners, see shared race history with squad members and view upcoming races you have in common.

Supporter Book

Me → Supporters is your private saved list of people you regularly invite as Supporters — friends and family members who come to your races. You can mark a supporter as a favourite and set a default flag so they pre-fill the invite picker for your next race.

Your public profile

Your public handle-based profile is at app.bield.run/u/[handle]. It shows your bio, roles, public race history and trust score. You control what's visible from Me → Privacy.

Integrations

Connect Bield to your existing training tools to bring your race history together and push your race plan to your device.

Strava

Go to Me → Integrations and tap Connect Strava. You'll be redirected to Strava's OAuth page — approve it and Bield imports your activity history. Once connected:

• Your Strava activities populate your Bield Race CV
• Future activities sync automatically
• Course overlap scores appear on race pages for courses your Strava activities cross — useful for spotting races on terrain you already know

Garmin

The Garmin integration lets you push your race pack — route and waypoints — directly to your connected Garmin device. It also intakes activity data from Garmin for race history. Note: the Garmin Developer Program connection is pending; check Me → Integrations for current status.

Apple HealthKit

On iOS, go to Me → Integrations and enable Apple Health to import running activities from HealthKit into your Bield race history.

.FIT file import & export

Import .FIT activity files from any device to add races to your history. Export race courses as .FIT files for loading onto Garmin, Suunto and other devices that accept FIT courses. Find both options in your engagement under Plan → Export.

ITRA history import

Bring your ITRA race history into Bield via Me → Import. Staged imports appear in Me → Import review for you to confirm before they're added to your Race CV.

Kit & packing list

Me → Kit (or app.bield.run/me/kit) is your packing list tool. Build and reuse packing lists across races, starting from domestic or international templates. Features include:

• Domestic and international starting templates
• Toggle to include nutrition items in the list
• Print, copy or download your list for offline use
• Check items off as you pack — progress is saved per engagement

The mandatory kit requirements from the race page (set by the organiser) are automatically surfaced in your kit list for that race so you never miss a required item.

Trust score

Your trust score (0–200) tells race teams you're who you say you are. It builds from:

• Verified background checks (DBS, Disclosure Scotland, AccessNI or national equivalent) — you upload a certificate; a Bield moderator verifies it; the certificate is not stored after verification
• Coaching or mountain-leader qualifications
• First-aid certificates
• References from past race contacts
• Strava-verified races

Your score is visible to race teams you interact with. It is not public on your profile page.

Accessibility, privacy & settings

Accessibility & medical information

Go to Me → Health or Me → Accessibility to store encrypted medical notes and emergency contact details. This information is stored under GDPR Article 9 (special category data) — it is encrypted at rest and is only shared when you consciously issue a share pack to a committed race team. Race teams cannot search or filter by medical data. Free.

Privacy & your data

Me → Privacy gives you full GDPR data rights:

• Export your data — request a full JSON export of everything Bield holds on you. Delivered by email link.
• Delete your account — request account deletion. There is a 30-day grace period during which you can cancel by emailing privacy@bield.run.
• Profile visibility controls — choose what appears on your public handle page.

Billing & subscription

Me → Billing — view and manage your Premium subscription, update your payment method, or cancel. Subscription management is handled via the Stripe Customer Portal — tap Manage subscription to open it.

Display complexity

Go to Me → Appearance & units and use the displayComplexity dial to set how much detail you see across the app: Essential (clean, minimal), Standard (default), or Full (everything visible). Useful if you find some screens overwhelming or if you want to surface every available feature.

Common questions