We have spent years on the race side of running. Through our sister company Radical Runs, we manage or consult on about half of the running events in Marion County, and our print shop makes the shirts, medals, and signs that show up on race day. One question kept coming up from runners at every event: "How do I find the next one?"
So we built an answer. BibScouts.com is a free website that helps runners find races near them, and it shows something most race calendars leave out: what the race costs today and when that price goes up.
What is BibScouts?
BibScouts is a free running race finder for the United States. Each race card shows the date, the distances offered, today's registration fee, and the date of the next price increase. Runners can browse by state, check seasonal race hubs, and sign up for weekly email alerts about nearby races whose fees are about to rise.
Why we built it
Most race registrations use tiered pricing. Sign up early and you pay less; wait until race week and the same bib can cost noticeably more. Runners know this, but the price schedule is usually buried on each race's registration page, and nobody has time to check a dozen pages to see which deadline is coming up.
BibScouts puts that information on the card, right next to the date and distance. You can see at a glance which races are worth registering for this week.
What runners can do on BibScouts
- Browse races by state. Every state plus Washington, DC has its own race page, and the homepage map previews what is running this weekend.
- See price-jump dates. Each race shows today's fee and when the next increase hits.
- Filter by distance. Races are tagged 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, ultra, and kids' races.
- Spot the fun ones. "Merit badges" flag trail races, dog-friendly runs, brewery finishes, and more.
- Find nearby options. Each race lists other races within 30 miles.
- Get price alerts. Enter a ZIP code to get one email a week, at most, with nearby races whose fees are about to rise.
BibScouts also runs seasonal hubs for the busiest stretches of the running calendar: Turkey Trots, Jingle Bell and Ugly Sweater 5Ks, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day runs, and spring half marathons. With Thanksgiving coming up, the Turkey Trot hub is a good place to start.
BibScouts is free for runners. It earns referral commissions on some registrations at no extra cost to the runner.
What it means for race directors
If your race uses RunSignup or TicketSignup, it is likely already listed on BibScouts for free, with dates, distances, and fee tiers pulled from your registration page. Race directors who want more visibility can buy a featured placement at the top of a city or state calendar, a local ad that targets runners within a set radius, or a seasonal hub sponsorship.
The best time to promote a race is 45 to 60 days out, when runners are still choosing what to sign up for and early pricing is still in play.
This is the same thinking we bring to event marketing for our clients: reach people when they are deciding, and give them a reason to act now.
What it means for run shops, clubs, and coaches
BibScouts also has a running business directory covering run shops, run clubs, sports physical therapists, coaches, and race timers in every state. Businesses can claim a free verified listing, and a paid Pro listing adds a lead button, group run promotion, and coupons.
For a local running business, a verified listing on a site runners already use to plan their season is an easy way to get found by the right people.
How BibScouts connects to what we do
BibScouts is a pet project, but it grew out of our day-to-day work. We build online communities like St. George Word of Mouth, we help local businesses get found in search, and we print gear for races across the country through our custom t-shirt printing services and event materials. BibScouts brings those pieces together for the running community we work with every week.
Try it
Looking for your next start line? Head to BibScouts.com, pick your state, and see which races are about to get more expensive.
Putting on a race and need help filling it, or need shirts and medals for race day? Contact us and we'll help with both.
