Whether you’re offering a VIP registration tier, a sponsor perk, or an exclusive event for a select group of participants, RunSignup’s Private Event feature gives you a simple and effective way to keep certain events hidden from the general public — while still allowing the right people to sign up with ease.
Here’s everything you need to know about setting up a private event.
A Quick Note on RunSignup Terminology
Before diving in, it helps to understand how RunSignup organizes events. A Race is the overarching “umbrella” for your entire event day — it’s what participants find when they search RunSignup and what holds all of your settings, your race page, and your registration. Within a Race, you create individual Events, which are the specific options participants choose during registration (such as a 5K, 10K, or Kids Fun Run). Private event registration works at the Event level, meaning you can make one or more individual Events private while keeping others publicly visible.
What Is a Private Event?
A private event is an event within your race that does not appear on your public race page or event selection screen. It’s accessible only through a special link that you control and distribute. Anyone without that link simply won’t know the event exists.
This is especially useful for:
- Sponsors or VIPs who receive exclusive registration access
- Corporate or team registrations that shouldn’t appear in general sign-up flows
- Early access events for returning participants or club members
- Challenge platform sub-events used for results purposes only, with no public-facing registration
- Multi-race bundle components where one event should only be accessible as part of a bundle
How to Set Up a Private Event
Setting up a private event takes just a few steps in your race dashboard.
Step 1: Create Your Event(s) Within Your Race
Before an Event can be made private, it first needs to exist within your Race. If you haven’t already added the Event, you’ll need to create it first — including its name, pricing, shirt options, and any other details. You can do this in Step 1: Basic Info of the Race Wizard (Race >> Race Wizard), under the Events section. Add your Event there before moving on.
Step 2: Set Up the Private Event Code
Once your Event is created, you can assign the private event code in one of two places:
- For new events during initial setup: Continue through the Race Wizard to Step 3: Registration, where you’ll find the Registration Options section for each event. You can enter the private event code here as part of your initial configuration.
- For existing events already added to your Race: Navigate to Race >> Registration >> Dates, Pricing, & Options, find the Event you want to make private, and expand its Registration Options section.
Note in both the Race Wizard and Race Dashboard options, you will need to click the grey dropdown menu that says Additional Registration Options.
Step 3: Enter a Private Event Code
In the Registration Options section, you’ll see a field for a Private Event Code. Enter a unique code of your choosing — something meaningful but not easy to guess (e.g., VIP2026 or SponsorAccess). Click Save.
Step 4: Share the Private Link
Once saved, RunSignup will display the private registration link directly above the code field. The URL format looks like this: https://runsignup.com/Race/Register?raceId=198358&privateEventCode=ABC
Simply replace ABC with whatever code you set, and share this link with your intended registrants.
To use it, highlight and replace everything from the final = to the end of the URL — the placeholder ABC — and substitute in the exact code you entered. For example, if your code id supersecret, your link becomes: https://runsignup.com/Race/Register?raceId=198358&privateEventCode=supersecret.
Share this final link with your intended registrants via email, a private message, or any other channel you choose.
What the Registrant Sees
Participants who use the private link will be taken directly to a registration flow that includes the private event — just like any standard registration experience.
Meanwhile, anyone visiting the general race page will see no trace of the private event. It won’t appear in the event tiles, the event selection list, or anywhere else on the public-facing race page.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
- The code is the key. Anyone with the private link and code can register, so share it thoughtfully and only with your intended audience.
- Private events work with multi-race bundles. If you want a private event to be accessible only as part of a bundle, you can include it — participants will only see and register for that event through the bundle flow.
- Private events can still have all standard settings. Pricing tiers, custom questions, capacity limits, and other registration options all work normally within a private event.
- Need single-use or controlled access? If you want even tighter control — such as limiting registration to specific named individuals — consider pairing the private event with RunSignup’s Reserved Entries feature, which lets you create single-use or multi-use codes tied to specific registrants.
- Private events are not the same as private races. This race page will still be public. To make your race private, go to your Race Dashboard navigate to Race >> Display >> Private Race. Enable Private Race by checking the box labeled “Make this Race Private” and save. By making your race private, it will no longer be listed on the RunSignup race list page or shown on search engines. Participants will need a direct link to access the race registration page.
If you have questions about setting up a private event, visit our Support Knowledge Base or reach out to your RunSignup account manager or email info@runsignup.com.