Technology for Ultra Races
RunSignup makes registration easy, sure. But we’re also here with free technology to help you manage your ultra events from conception to execution.
Registration
Make it simple for participants to register in minutes with a dynamic, mobile-friendly, and customizable registration platform.
Marketing Tools
Take advantage of free marketing tools including email and websites as well as built-in referral programs, incentive-base pricing setups, and social sharing settings.
Fundraising
Raise more for your nonprofit, charity partner, or multiple charity partners with integrated donations and fundraising tools.
RaceDay
Streamline your RaceDay operations with flexible bib assignment, a speedy CheckIn App and simple on-site registration options.
Why Ultra & Trail Races Are Different
Ultra and trail races present a set of operational challenges you won’t find at a typical 5K or half marathon. The platform you use should understand that.
- Longer registration windows. Ultra runners register significantly earlier than road race participants — often 9 to 12 months out. Your platform needs to support early-bird pricing tiers, waitlists, and lottery systems that run themselves over a long cycle.
- Remote course logistics. Many ultra courses run through locations with no cell service, no timing infrastructure, and no easy way to monitor participant progress. RaceDay tools need to work offline and sync automatically when connectivity is restored.
- Participant safety and tracking. With runners spread across 30, 50, or 100 miles of remote terrain for hours or days, real-time GPS tracking and SOS capabilities aren’t a nice-to-have — they’re essential.
- Complex participant data. Pacers, crew access points, expected finish times, qualifying credentials, multiple waivers — ultras require more information from participants at registration than any other race format. Year-round planning cycles. Ultras are distributed more evenly across the calendar than road races, with a stronger presence in fall and winter months. Your marketing and registration strategy should reflect that rhythm.
Key Features for Ultra Races
Built for How Ultras Actually Work
Collect exactly the data you need — none that you don’t — with unlimited custom questions designed to handle ultra-specific requirements.
- Support multiple waivers — one for your race, one for the venue, and one for your sponsor — all timestamped in the registration flow
- Validate qualifying times to confirm participants meet your entry requirements before they complete registration
- Flexible question formats for multiple choice, multi-select, or open-ended answers
- Collect pacer and crew information so you have a complete record of everyone on your course
- Time validation for expected finish windows, previous race results, and cutoff acknowledgments
Participant Management
Reduce your inbox and keep participants coming back with flexible, self-serve participant management tools — essential for events with long registration cycles and high participant change rates.
- Enable self-serve options for distance transfers, bib exchanges, and refunds — participants handle it themselves, within the rules you set
- Allow changes for free or add a fee to transfers and deferrals to recover administrative costs
- Manage waitlists automatically — when a spot opens, the next person in line is notified and given a configurable window to claim it
- Cap registrations by distance for course management, or across the full event for venue capacity limits
- Use bulk participant management for refunds, transfers, and deferrals when changes affect many people at once
- Lottery management for sold-out or application-based events, with automated notification workflows
Automated Pricing for Long Registration Cycles
Ultra runners commit early — reward them for it, and use automated pricing to keep motivation high across a registration window that can stretch 12 months or more.
- Set automatic price increases based on date or registration count to activate potential participants before windows close
- Build multi-race bundles that let loyal runners register across your full event series at once
- Reward local running clubs and groups with automated membership-based discounts or auto-applied coupon codes
- Use referral reward programs to turn your registered runners into ambassadors — automatically
Volunteer Platform
Ultras run on volunteers — and they’re not all at the finish line. Manage your full crew across remote aid stations, course checkpoints, and start/finish operations, all from your race dashboard.
- Organize volunteers by task, location, and time slot — with dedicated coordinators for each
- Set minimum and maximum headcounts for each aid station or checkpoint so you’re never under-staffed on course
- Add custom questions and waivers specific to volunteer roles
- Communicate directly through free email and automated volunteer lists, segmented by task or location
- Offer vouchers to give volunteers discounted entry into future even
Participant Insurance
Earn more revenue by offering your participants optional protection.
- Enable the ability for participants to purchase insurance during their registration
- All insurance-related participant management (and refunds) are handled by our insurance partner, Protecht Regshield
- Low-cost option for your participants, at 8.1% of the registration fee (just a $2.99 minimum)
- 20% of all insurance premiums are paid to your race, providing a nice
RunSignup Makes Your Ultra Easy to Find
Want to make sure runners can find your event? In addition to including your race on our internal race search, creating your race on RunSignup means it’s automatically to our network of 2,500 US-based event calendars like RunningintheUsa, Evvnt, and more. Additionally, we optimize your race website to ensure it’s a top hit on Google – and the ability to renew your race means all the SEO you earn this year will continue to help your race to be found next year.
RaceDay Technology for Ultra Races
Ultras don’t end at the finish line of a 5K. They can unfold across hours or days, in remote terrain, with rolling finishers, aid station check-ins, and participants who may not cross the line until long after dark. Our RaceSay technology is built for all of it.
RaceDay Scoring
Step up your game with our next-generation race scoring software to score runners on multiple courses and multiple distances.
Mobile Timing App
For small, simple races in remote conditions, the Mobile Timing App allows you to track finishers and publish results for participants in real time.
RaceJoy Tracking
Offer RaceJoy’s runner tracking to ensure the safety of your participants with off-course and SOS alerts, live dashboards, and communications features.
Post-Race
Keep your participants engaged with searchable results and auto-tagged photos right on your race website. Unlimited photo uploads are allowed.
Want To See It In Action?
Watch our on-demand webinar: Technology for Ultra & Trail Races — covering participant management, marketing tools, volunteer management, and RaceDay operations built for remote courses.
How Trail Racing Over Texas Modernized Their Ultra Race Operations by Switching to RunSignup
Trail Racing Over Texas (TROT) has been getting Texans outside and moving since 2014. After being revitalized in 2022 under new ownership by ultra-runner Cal Neff and his spouse Rachel, TROT has hosted hundreds of events across Texas, showcasing the state’s beautiful parks and ranches with family-friendly events designed for all abilities.
Company Founded: 2014
Annual Events: 12
Reduction in Check-in Time: 90%
Blackbeard’s Revenge 100 Ultra & Relay
Blackbeard’s Revenge 100, a “road race as bold and untamed as the pirate it’s named for”, was introduced by Trivium Racing in 2019 to fill a gap left by the cessation of another long-standing 100-miler. While the second running of the race was delayed by a 2020 cancellation, the event has since grown and improved. Claiming to be a bold and untamed as the pirate it’s named for, the race includes a 100 mile, a 100k, and a 100 mile relay. And the finish line celebration at The Wreck Tiki Bar in Hatteras is fit for an Ultra Pirate!
500+ Participants
27 Relay Teams
Race Distances: 100 Miles or 100K
Scout Mountain Ultras
Scout Mountain Ultras is an environmental event with a running problem. The race moved to RunSignup for better participant management tools, easing the time needed for customer service and ensuring happier runners. Along with that, they have taken advantage of safety features, integrated donations, merch options, and RaceDay tools to create an ultra race that is both loved by participants and true to the advocacy goals of the event.
3 Distance Options
22,300 ft Elevation Gain
44% Participation by Women
The Latest Blogs on Ultra Races
2025 Ultramarathon Statistics: Demographics, Growth, and Registration Trends
RunSignup puts out a comprehensive annual RaceTrends report looking at the state of the endurance industry. However, one of the largest gaps in that report is the state of Ultramarathons. While data exists, our bulk reporting cannot differentiate between long-term virtual challenges…
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Trail and Ultras on RunSignup
Trail races and ultrarunning continue to grow in popularity, and race organizers need technology that can keep up. RunSignup continues to lead the way as a technology-based registration platform, supporting a growing number of trail and ultras with powerful tools for registration,…
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San Antonio Road Runners Prickly Pear 50K/15K/5K
The Prickly Pear 50K/15K/5K, the oldest trail race in Bear County at 23 years, is one of two trail races organized by the San Antonio Road Runners (SARR). While most of the club activities are centered around road racing, Prickly Pear Race…
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Why Technology Matters for Ultra and Trail Races
At RunSignup we know that organizing trail and ultra races takes as much effort as running them. And our team features plenty of running nerds — including trail & ultra runners who understand the challenges (and rewards) firsthand. Because of that, we…
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Blackbeard’s Revenge 100 Ultra & Relay
Blackbeard’s Revenge 100, a “road race as bold and untamed as the pirate it’s named for”, was introduced by Trivium Racing in 2019 to fill a gap left by the cessation of another long-standing 100-miler. While the second running of the race…
Read More
NEW Mobile Timing App Photo Capture Integration
We are very excited to announce the new RaceDay Mobile Timing App Version 5 with Photo Capture integration. This significant update enables race timers with the ability to capture and auto-tag participant photos directly from the app. Images are instantly linked to…
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Human Potential Running Series
Since 2014 the Human Potential Running Series (HPRS) has created an inclusive place for all interested to participate in trail and ultra races. With a core focus on community instead of competition, it’s no wonder why they’ve become the largest trail and…
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RaceDay Scoring adds new Adjustment functions and Leaderboard Fields to Lap Race Scoring in v4.0.33!
This update introduces new features for Lap Events, particularly for “Last Man Standing” style races, where the last finisher of each lap is eliminated from the course. The new Report Fields that have been added allow Timers to create custom leaderboard reports…
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Ultra and Trail Races on RunSignup
RunSignup has become the technology home for many Ultra and Trail races, with a growing number moving to our platform. This blog reviews some of the top reasons Ultras and Trail races use RunSignup and example data and races. Free Website –…
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Scout Mountain Ultras
About the Scout Mountain Ultras Scout Mountain Ultras is an environmental event with a running problem. When race directors Luke & Tanae took over the event in 2011 they were determined to use the event as a way to elevate the environmental…
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Four Ways RunSignup Can Help Make Your Ultra Race a Success
Ultra distance events come with many of the same needs as typical race events like 5Ks and half marathons, but they also have very unique requirements and things to consider. For example, many ultra events don’t use a timer to officially score…
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Massive RaceJoy Usage at the Midstate Massive Ultra Trail Race
The Midstate Massive Ultra Trail event, a point-to-point trail race with distances of 100, 50 and 30 miles in Massachusetts, has offered RaceJoy since its inception of 2019. This popular ultra New England event attracted close to 350 participants this last weekend and 78%…
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