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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 helpers via a personal link. Search for a coach from Me → My coach.
- 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.
- 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.
- Results When the organiser publishes results, your engagement shows your finish position, time and total finishers.
- 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
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Free-text search | Race name or organiser name |
| Date range | From / to date picker |
| Distance & elevation | Sliders for km and metres of climb |
| Terrain | Road / trail / mountain / fell |
| Cutoff hours | Minimum time allowed to finish |
| Pacers / crew allowed | Filter to races that permit support |
| Near me radius | Distance from your current location |
| Inside my zones | Races in your declared coverage areas (support roles) |
| Registration closing soon | Events with entry closing in the next few days |
| Weekend only | Filter to Saturday / Sunday starts |
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.
Entering a race
Important: Bield does not process race entry payments. Actual registration and payment happen on the organiser's own site, linked from the race page. Bield is where you plan and track.
What the buttons on a race page mean
| Button | What it does | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|
| Add to my races | Creates your engagement (planning workspace) and tracks the race on Bield | Per-race consent accepted |
| Join waiting list | Queues you for a place when the race is full and the organiser has a waitlist | Race must be full with waitlist enabled |
| Request a place | For club or organiser-managed events where attendance is handled on Bield | Organiser manages entries via Bield |
| Register on organiser's site ↗ | Opens the real entry / payment page | None |
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
Any expenses, rates or terms are agreed directly between you and your pacer or crewer. Bield introduces you; it never handles the money.
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 helper
A helper is a friend or family member joining your race team — not a pacer or crewer. From your engagement, generate a personal invite link and send it to them. When they open it and sign in (or create a Bield account), they appear on your engagement as part of your race team.
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
- Helpers
- After the race: your result and certificate download
Engagement status flow
| Status | Code | What it means | What triggers the transition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interested | interested | You've added the race but not yet confirmed you're registered | Tapping “Add to my races” |
| Registered | registered | You've confirmed registration on the organiser's site | You tap “I'm registered” on your engagement |
| Active | active | Race day has started | Race date reached; date-driven by the system |
| Completed | completed | Race window closed; result may be available | Race cutoff window passed; date-driven |
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:
| Status | Code | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Approached | approached | You or they expressed interest but haven't committed |
| Willing | willing | They've indicated they can do it; awaiting your confirmation |
| Committed | committed | Both sides confirmed — they're on your team |
| Standby | standby | Reserve position — stepped back but not fully withdrawn |
| Declined | declined | They or you declined the arrangement |
| Withdrawn | withdrawn | Either party withdrew after committing |
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
The organiser must: (1) publish results; (2) have finisher certificates enabled for the race; (3) have your email address in the results CSV (if you're not a Bield member). All three must be true before a certificate can be sent.
How you receive your certificate
| Your situation | Delivery method | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Bield member matched to your result | In-app notification + push | Your engagement page → Download finisher certificate |
| Email address on the results CSV, not a Bield member | Email with a download link | Inbox — link valid 30 days; opens PDF directly |
| No email on results, not on Bield | Skipped (no contact available) | Ask the organiser to add your email and resend |
For full details about what goes on a certificate and how organiser sends work, see the Finisher certificates guide.
Result statuses
| Status | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Finished | finished | Crossed the finish line within the cutoff |
| Did not finish | DNF | Started but withdrew before the finish |
| Did not start | DNS | Entered but did not start |
| Disqualified | DQ | Finished but removed from results for a rules breach |
| Withdrawn | withdrawn | Withdrew before the race started |
Planning tools — pace and fuelling
The Pace calculator is open to everyone, no account needed. It takes a GPX file or a race from the Bield catalogue plus your target time and produces:
- Split tables per checkpoint
- Pacer handoff suggestions
- Crew reachability points (checkpoints with crew access)
- Checkpoint ETAs
- Sunrise / sunset timeline
- Weather outlook
- Fuelling plan — carbohydrate, sodium and fluid estimates with a product picker
Race pages include a lighter version of the calculator linked to the course profile.
These are planning aids, not guarantees. The estimates use standard models (Naismith and grade-adjusted pacing). Conditions, terrain and how you feel on the day will all move the numbers. Always sanity-check against your own experience and the organiser's cutoffs.
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.
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.
Common questions
I added a race but can't see my engagement. Where is it?
Go to Me → My races or the Engagements tab and select Running. If you added the race very recently it may take a moment to appear. If it's still missing, check Me → Your roles to confirm the Runner role is on.
Does Bield handle race entry payments?
No. Registration and payment always happen on the organiser's own site, linked from the race page. Bield tracks the race and your team; it does not process entry fees.
My finisher certificate isn't there. What should I check?
Three things: (1) Has the organiser published results (not just uploaded them)? (2) Does the race have certificates enabled? (3) If you're not a Bield member, is your email address on the results CSV? If any of these is missing, contact the organiser directly.
Can I have a pacer even if the race doesn't list it as allowed?
The race page and the Bield filters tell you whether pacers are permitted. If a race doesn't allow pacers, you can't use the Bield pacing system for it — that's the organiser's call, not Bield's.
Who sees my medical or dietary information?
Nobody by default. It's only shared when you consciously issue a share pack to a committed race. Race teams cannot search or filter by medical or dietary data.
How do I delete my account or export my data?
Me → Privacy & data. Export delivers a JSON of everything Bield holds on you. Deletion has a 30-day grace period — cancel by emailing privacy@bield.run within that window.