Join your race instead of creating it

A race is on RunFast once. When a thousand runners join the same Comrades, their families see the whole field on one live map, not one lonely dot each. So before you add a race, RunFast looks for it first.

Join a race

1. Open Runs and choose New run, then Race.
2. RunFast shows Is it one of these?: the races near you and coming up first, with a Search for a race box. Search by the race’s name or its town, such as “two oceans” or “durban”.
3. Tap your race (or Join on its card). Each card shows its name, date, place, distance and how many people are going.
4. Answer one question: Be found by everyone in live tracking? Choose Yes or No, then Save.
5. You’re in. Share your link: your livedot link if you chose Yes and have one, else your follow link.

The race shows on your Runs list with an In tag. Its date, gun time and course are the race’s own, so you don’t add a file or a time. Your goal time, your words and your pace are yours, and they’re optional: set them later on the race’s card, under Your goal and live tracking.

Some big races are listed before anyone has added them. Join on one says you’re in: when someone publishes that race on RunFast, you’re put in it with the answer you gave. Its card says Course not added yet until then, and Course added by a runner · being checked once a runner’s route is in.

Can’t find it? Add it takes you to the usual form (route, name, date and gun time). Once it’s published and not private, it’s in the list for the next runner who looks for it.

When you bring a route with you

When you save a new race, switch a run to Race, or bring a route in from a file, a link or Strava as a race, RunFast checks it against the races already on RunFast. If yours matches one (the same day, give or take one; a start within 5 km; and mostly the same course, or a very similar name), the same screen opens with just those races. Join one, or choose No, it’s a different race to carry on as before. With no match, nothing changes.

Email a route does the same: if the route you sent matches a race, the reply and the notification say “Looks like Comrades Marathon 2027. Join it?” with a Join button. Your run from the email is made as well, so nothing is lost.

Already made your own copy?

On a race of yours that matches a shared one, a banner at the top says, for example, “1,240 people are on the shared Comrades Marathon 2027.”

• Move to it asks once: “Your goal, words and followers come with you. Your own copy is removed.” Your followers follow you, not the race, so your link keeps working and now shows the shared race.
• Keep mine hides the banner for that race.

Nothing is ever moved without your tap.

Who sees you

Being found is your choice on each race. Yes puts you on the race’s live map for everyone and makes you findable by your name (findable by name). No means only people with your link, and the people you approve, can follow you. You can change it on the race’s card at any time.

On race day, even with no taps

Start recording on your Garmin, or Run live on your phone, at the start of a race that’s on RunFast, and you’re put in that race by yourself: on its course, near its start, from an hour before the gun. A notification says “You’re live on Comrades Marathon 2027.” and who can see you.

• Who sees you is your Live on race routes setting, in Account → Race day. On (the default): you’re findable by everyone, on the race’s live map. Off: you’re still on the race, seen only by people with your link.
• If you joined the race beforehand, your own answer on it is used.
• Not the race you meant, or you’d rather not be seen? Tap Turn tracking off on the notification: you leave the race’s map and nobody sees you live. Your own run keeps recording, and it’s never put back in that race by itself. You can turn live tracking on again from the race’s card.
• The race never sees your first kilometre, or anything within 1 km of where you started.

See going live and Run live.

When the race changes

If the race’s date, gun time or course changes, everyone in it gets a notification, and its weather follows.

A race you made that others joined

While other people are in a race you made, it can’t be deleted, unpublished or made private: RunFast says how many are in it. You can still edit it, and moving to a shared copy of it is refused too, so nobody is left without their race.