Race day guide
From packet pickup to the finish line
What to do the week before, where your bib goes, how the start works, and what happens after you finish.
Before race day
Get ready the week of the race
A few minutes of prep now saves a scramble on race morning.
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Check your registration
Make sure your name, distance, age, and gender are right. That’s what appears in the results, so ask the race to fix any mistakes before race day.
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Read the race information
Note the start time, packet pickup details, parking, and course map. It’s also where the race says whether awards use clock time or chip time.
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Plan your pace
Use our pace calculator to find the pace for your goal time, so you know where to line up.
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Pick up your bib
Your bib usually comes in your race packet. Check that it’s yours and that it’s for the distance you’re running. The timing chip is already on the back.
Your bib
Wear your bib the right way
Your timing chip is a thin, disposable tag on the back of your bib. The mats read it best when the bib is flat, uncovered, and on the front of your body.
- Pin it on the front of your body, front and center on your chest or stomach.
- Keep it flat and unfolded. Don’t cut, crumple, or fold it, especially where the chip is.
- Use four pins, one in each corner, and don’t pin through the chip.
- Pin it to the layer you’ll finish in, and keep jackets, vests, and hydration packs from covering it.
- Wear it on your torso, not on your back, leg, or hat, and never folded up in a pocket.
- Run with your own bib. Results follow the bib number, so a swapped bib puts your time under someone else’s name.
Race morning
At the start
Give yourself time, find your spot, and let the timing system do its job.
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Arrive early
Leave time to park, pick up your bib if you haven’t, use the restroom, and warm up. Pin your bib on before you head to the start.
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Line up by pace
Faster runners start near the front, and walkers toward the back. If the start has pace signs or corrals, line up where your expected pace fits.
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Cross the start mat
If there’s a timing mat at the start line, your chip time starts when you cross it, not when the race begins. There’s no need to push to the front.
On the course
During the race
Cross every mat
Some courses have timing mats partway through for splits. Run straight across each one. Going around a mat means no time is recorded there.
Lap events
In timed lap events, you cross the lap mat each time around and every lap is timed. Your results show each lap’s time.
Stopping early
If you drop out, tell a race official or the timing team so they know you’re off the course. Some races have a form for reporting it.
After you finish
At the finish and after
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Keep moving
Keep walking through the finish area so the runners behind you can finish cleanly, and don’t stop on the timing mats.
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Check your results
At many races, results are printed and posted near the finish during the race, and live results are on RunSignup. Final results are posted on our Results page.
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Watch your finish
When a race has finish-line video, your row in the results links to the moment you crossed the line.
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Get your certificate
The Finisher Certificate link in your results row opens your individual result on RunSignup, where you’ll find your certificate.
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Something look off?
Send a question or correction request with your bib number and estimated finish time. The sooner, the better.
Packing list
What to bring
Pack the night before so race morning is easy.
- Your bib, if you picked it up early, and four safety pins
- Shoes and clothes you’ve already trained in
- Warm layers for before the start that won’t end up covering your bib
- Water, plus fuel for longer races
- Your watch or phone, if you like to track your own run
- Your registration confirmation, in case there’s a question at packet pickup
- Something warm and dry to change into afterward
Nothing to return
Your chip is disposable. Keep your bib as a souvenir. There’s nothing to hand back at the finish.
Know what your results mean
Clock time or chip time? Gender place or age group place? Learn what every column means before you go looking.
Ready to race?
Find your next race.
See the races we’re timing next, or look up results from a race you’ve already run.