Event Information

Discover RaceDay CheckIn, RunSignup’s free app designed to streamline the participant check-in process for race organizers and timers alike:

1. Learn how RaceDay CheckIn eliminates the need for printed participant lists, reducing check-in time and improving the overall race morning experience
2. See how the app integrates seamlessly with RunSignup registration to give you real-time visibility into who has checked in and who hasn’t
3. Explore key features including bib assignment, packet pickup tracking, and on-site registration to keep your event running smoothly

Walk away with the knowledge to set up and use RaceDay CheckIn at your next event

Who should attend: Timers and race organizers looking to modernize their check-in process and create a more efficient race day experience.

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Webinar Summary

Overview

This webinar provides a comprehensive introduction to the RaceDay Check-In App, one of the most widely used tools in the RunSignup ecosystem. The session covers everything from downloading the app and setting your password to configuring presets and configurations, using QR codes, printing labels, managing volunteers, handling offline scenarios, and preparing for race day with the right workflows in place.

In 2025, 50% of all races on RunSignup used the check-in app, with over 7.3 million participants checked in across 18,500 events — including events as small as 50 people and as large as 26,800 participants at a single race.

What You’ll Learn

• How to configure the check-in app on the RunSignup platform before race day
• How to download, set up, and navigate the app
• What presets and configurations are and how to use them
• How to set up bib assignment, waiver signing, and related registrations
• How to use QR codes to speed up check-in
• How to configure label printing
• How to use volunteer check-in mode
• How to use medical check-in mode and results kiosk mode
• Best practices for packet pickup, testing, and race day readiness
• What’s new and coming soon in the app

First and Most Important Step: Configure Your App in RunSignup

Before anyone can use the check-in app, two things must be set on the RunSignup platform:

1. A check-in password — Go to Race Day Tools > Race Day Check-In Mobile App and set a password. This is what volunteers and staff enter to access your race in the app. It must be unique and should never be your RunSignup password.
2. A check-in date range — Set the window during which the app will display your race and allow check-ins. If the date range has passed, the race will not appear in the app. If a device opens the app outside the date range, the race will be automatically deleted from that device.

Important: If you’ve renewed your race, the check-in date range does not carry over automatically. Go back and verify it is set correctly each year.

Downloading and Opening the App

Search for Race Day Check-In in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. On first launch:

• Set a unique device name — this is critical for tracking activity, auditing edits, and diagnosing support issues. Something like a first name and last initial works well.
• Search for your race by name and enter the check-in password to access it.
• Use Share Race and App from the three-bar menu to generate a QR code that volunteers can scan to open the app directly to your race (this does not log them in, but saves time finding it).

Navigating the Three-Bar Menu

Once inside your race, the three-bar (hamburger) menu gives access to:

• Lock Race — Restricts settings changes on a specific device using a four-digit PIN
• Quick Check-In — Camera-only mode for scanning registration ID and bib QR codes; only use this if participants are informed to bring their QR code
• Check-In Stats — At-a-glance view of check-in progress by race, event, and device
• Cued Edits — Shows all changes made on the device that haven’t yet synced to RunSignup, plus an edit history of the last 1,500 changes on that device
• Force Refresh — Updates race information if something fundamental changes (new question added, new response option, etc.)
• Volunteer Check-In — Quickly switches between participant and volunteer modes
• Change Configuration — Switches the active configuration on the device
• Get Support — Sends a help ticket with device logs directly to the RunSignup support team; always use this from the device that is having the problem
• Share Race and App — Generates a QR code for easy volunteer access
• Back to Races — Returns to the main race selection screen

Presets and Configurations: The Building Blocks

Understanding presets and configurations is the most important part of setting up the check-in app effectively.

Presets define what a user can see and do when checking in a participant. Think of them as the rules for a specific type of check-in experience.

Configurations are collections of presets applied to specific events within your race, along with some overall app behavior settings.

A default preset is provided but is missing one key feature: requiring a bib number at check-in. It is strongly recommended to create your own presets.

Setting Up a Preset

Access presets from the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app. Tap the plus button to create a new preset and give it a descriptive name (e.g., “Dynamic Bib Assignment,” “Kids Race – Skip Bib,” “Relay Teams”).

Check-In Steps

These define what happens during the check-in flow:

• Bib Assignment — Set to Required, Optional, or Skip. Use Required for any event with dynamic bib assignment. If a bib is already assigned, it will display automatically.
• Group Bib Assignment — For relay teams or events where one bib number covers a whole team
• Waiver Signing — Prompts participants to sign any unsigned waivers on the device. Signed waivers are stored as a PDF on the participant’s RunSignup registration. Multiple waivers and age-based waivers are supported.
• Check-In Related Registrations — Adds a step at the end of check-in showing suggested related registrations by same team, corporate team, fundraising team, or same transaction. Note: same transaction requires an actual credit card transaction — participants who registered free via coupon are not linked.

Information Displays

Controls what participant data is visible in the app. Any field you want to be able to edit must first be enabled here.

Information Changes

Controls what actions a user can take on a participant — including changing their event, unchecking them in, switching corrals, or updating answers to custom questions.

Advanced Options

• Prevent Duplicate Bibs in Event — On by default; prevents assigning the same bib to two people within the same event
• Validate Bibs — If bib validation is set up in RunSignup, this prevents app users from assigning bib numbers outside the valid range for an event — a very effective safeguard against volunteers checking people into the wrong event
• Use Group Name During Check-In — Displays the team or group name during the check-in flow

Saving Your Preset

When saving, choose Sync rather than Local. Synced presets are stored in the cloud and available across all devices — critical if a device is ever lost or damaged before race day.

When you save your first synced preset, you’ll be prompted to create a configuration. If you choose to create one, the preset is applied to all events by default.

Setting Up a Configuration

Access configurations from the gear icon, then Race Configurations. Create a new one with the plus button or edit an existing one.

Event Presets

Assign specific presets to specific events. For example, apply a “Skip Bib” preset to a kids race and a “Dynamic Bib Assignment” preset to the 5K and 10K.

Hidden Events

Choose events to hide from the app entirely — useful for virtual participants, events only relevant on specific days, or VIP-only packet pickup flows.

General Options

Data Displays

Customize what appears in the participant list: checked-in status, bib number, age, giveaway, or nothing. Team name can also be shown beneath the participant’s name.

Lookup Settings

• Exact Match Lookup — Controls how quickly the app auto-navigates to a result: Fast, Medium, Slow, or Off
• Lookup Method — Standard (shows a list of names) or Kiosk (names hidden; best for results lookup)
• Lookup Result — What screen loads after finding a participant: View Participant, Update Registration Information, View Results, or Update Medical Info

Participant List Sort

Set a primary and secondary sort (last name, first name, bib number, team name, etc.) in ascending or descending order.

Sync Frequency

Defaults to every 30 seconds. Only change this in coordination with your timer if a specific timing setup requires it.

Medical Check-In Mode

The check-in app includes a medical mode for tracking participant check-ins and check-outs at a medical tent. Data is stored in RunSignup and can be downloaded from Race Day Check-In > Check-In Stats > Medical Event Data on the platform dashboard.

Additional fields (such as emergency contact information) can be displayed in medical mode. However, be mindful of what information is displayed or collected — RunSignup recommends consulting a full HIPAA guide before configuring this and cautions against recording injury details or hospital destinations in the app.

Results Kiosk Mode

The check-in app can function as a results kiosk where participants look up their own results. Set the lookup method to Kiosk and the lookup result to View Results. Participants can type in or scan their bib number to be taken directly to their results page.

Note: This only works with results that are natively hosted on RunSignup. External result links are not supported in this mode.

Label Printing

To use label printing, you must first enable it within a configuration. Key setup steps:

• Set the correct label size — incorrect size settings will prevent printing from working
• Android devices require an additional step to set the paper size
• Select your printer from the Default Printer option in the same settings area
• Customize font size, style, alignment, rows, and which fields appear on the label

Recommended printer: Brother QL-820NWB — it has a built-in screen for easier troubleshooting and supports optional battery packs for cordless use.

Best practices for printing:

• Bluetooth one-to-one connections are the most reliable
• If printing over a network, use no more than two devices per printer
• Test extensively before race day — you will burn labels, but it is far better than troubleshooting on site

Volunteer Check-In Mode

Volunteer mode works with the RunSignup volunteer platform and pulls in volunteers who have signed up or been imported. The flow is similar to participant check-in, but organized around tasks rather than events.

Volunteer mode supports presets and configurations with the same structure as participant mode. You can hide irrelevant tasks so, for example, a water station team only sees water station volunteer tasks.

Current limitations in volunteer mode:

• Task time slot information is not displayed
• Volunteer category information is not displayed
• Waiver signing is not available for volunteers
• Volunteer information cannot be edited beyond check-in status

Note: Volunteers V2 is on the horizon and will significantly change how volunteer features behave in the app.

QR Codes

QR codes are strongly recommended over barcodes — they are faster, more reliable, and carry more data.

There are two ways QR codes are used in the check-in app:

1. Registration ID QR code — Embedded in participant confirmation emails; scanning it brings up that participant directly in the app
2. Bib number QR code — Printed on the bib; scanning it assigns that bib number to a participant

The standard QR code check-in flow: Scan the registration QR code to find the participant → scan the bib QR code to assign the bib.

Dual-purpose bib QR codes: The app recognizes any URL ending in #[bib number]. This means you can print a results URL on the bib that also functions as the bib assignment QR code during packet pickup. After the race, participants can scan their own bib to view their results. Recommended URL format:

runsignup.com/Race/Results/[RaceID]/IndividualResult/#[BibNumber]

To send participants to a specific year’s results, include the year before the bib number. To keep it evergreen across multiple years of using the same bibs, omit the year.

Tip: Send a pre-race email the day of or evening before packet pickup that includes the registration ID QR code. Email V2 has a pre-built packet pickup template that includes this automatically.

Keeping Registration Open

The check-in app makes it practical to leave registration open all the way through the start of the race. Participants who register on-site have the same check-in experience as those who registered months ago.

Two tools support this:

Fast Registration Options (Race Registration > Fast Registration Options): Allows you to skip certain questions or steps during a defined date range to speed up on-site registration. Use with caution — skipping date of birth or gender can affect age group awards. When in doubt, the only option you should check is Allow participants to register without creating an account.

On-Site Registration: Sets up a password-protected station on an organizer-managed device for accepting registrations — including cash payments. The cash payment option requires a volunteer to manually confirm payment before completing the transaction. Be careful not to share this password publicly.

Best Practices Summary

• Talk to your timer — They are your best resource for anything timing-specific, including bib templates, ankle strap check-in flows for triathlons, label printer recommendations, and sync frequency settings
• Set your password and date range before anything else — Nothing works without these two things in place
• Test, test, test — Register yourself in your race and walk through the full check-in flow before packet pickup opens. Use an admin configuration to uncheck yourself and clear bib assignments as you test
• Create at least two configurations — A volunteer configuration with limited permissions (check-in only) and an admin configuration with full edit access for paid staff and timing staff
• Write a first name on the back of every bib — Especially critical for dynamic bib assignment; prevents participants from ending up with the wrong bib and avoids age group award issues
• Set up bib validation in RunSignup — Prevents volunteers from assigning bibs outside the valid range for an event
• Do a live check-in run before packet pickup opens — Use early arrivals or volunteering participants as your test group
• Set your check-in window to at least 15 minutes past race start — Avoid having to change this mid-packet-pickup
• If offline, monitor your cued edits — The app works without internet using store-and-forward, but duplicate detection is limited. Consider setting a cued edit limit to prevent data gaps
• Send a get support ticket from the device with the problem — This sends logs that dramatically speed up support response

What’s New and Coming Soon

Recently added:

• Age-based waivers
• OTA (over-the-air) updates — allows RunSignup to deploy certain fixes faster without a full app store review
• Race deletion when opened outside the check-in date range

Coming soon:

• Manual keyboard override while in camera mode — quickly type in a bib number without switching screens

Key Takeaways

• The RaceDay Check-In App is free, works on iOS and Android, and is built for events of any size
• You must set a password and check-in date range in RunSignup before the app will work — this is the single most important setup step
• Presets define what users can see and do; configurations define which presets apply to which events
• Always sync your presets rather than saving locally — if a device is lost or damaged, your setup is preserved
• QR codes dramatically speed up check-in — use them on both confirmation emails and bibs whenever possible
• The app works offline; changes sync up automatically when connectivity is restored
• Use separate volunteer and admin configurations to control what volunteers can and cannot change during packet pickup
• When in doubt on anything timing-related — bibs, hardware, ankle straps, label printers — ask your timer