Running event registration built for 5k races to marathons

Yes. Barefoot handles multiple distances and multi-distance running festivals on a single event, with waves and categories.

Yes. The entry flow is fast and mobile-first, because that’s where most running-event sign-ups happen.

Yes. You can assign start waves by predicted time or category, straight from the entry data.

Yes. You can sell event apparel and merchandise with sizing capture as part of registration.

Yes, if you want it to. Registration and timing share one system, so adding Barefoot timing means your entry data flows straight through to results.

Three to six months before race day suits most Australian road and fun run events. Larger city races typically open about four months out with four or five price tiers, while community fun runs often open six to eight weeks out. A longer window eases pre-event cash flow and lets each price increase work as a marketing moment. Trail and ultra events with capacity limits usually open earlier and sell out faster.

It depends entirely on the platform, so ask before you sign. Some registration platforms hold entry revenue until after the event and pay out on a set schedule. Others release funds during the registration period. This matters because most event costs — permits, medals, insurance, traffic management — fall due well before race day. Ask for the payout frequency and the time between a runner paying and the money landing in your account.

Usually yes. Under Australian Consumer Law, where the organiser cancels an event or makes a major change to it, entrants are entitled to a refund, and consumer guarantees can’t be excluded by your entry conditions. A blanket “all entries are non-refundable” clause doesn’t override them. Where an event is stopped by someone other than you, such as a government restriction, the remedy depends on your terms. Get your own advice on drafting those terms.

That’s your call as the organiser, and most registration platforms support it. Common practice across running events is to allow name transfers and distance changes up to a set cut-off, often one to two weeks before race day, with a small admin fee. Transfers cut no-shows and reduce refund requests. Decide the deadline and the fee before entries open, and state both in your entry conditions.

Yes, if your registration platform supports on-site entry and your timing setup can absorb late bibs. Many Australian events close online entries a few days out and offer race-day entry at a surcharge, commonly $5 to $15. The risk is manual data entry under time pressure, which is where race-day results errors usually start. On-site entry that writes into the same system as your online entries removes that risk.