Hosting a 5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon or anything in between is a great way to raise money for charity. Even on top of charities, they’re also perfect for creating social events for running organisations and others in the space, but to do them right, it’s a huge help to be organised.
As industry leading custom medal providers in the UK, we are very often seen in the running scene for our running medals and awards, being used by charities and organisations alike to celebrate the achievements of their runners and these are just some of the things we think make up how to organise a charity run or fun run to be the best standard possible.
1: Work out the Logistics
First and foremost is working out the logistics of the event in question. Whether it’s the who, what, when, where or why, you need to think about what the plan is and what is needed to make it possible in the first place.
Location & Permissions
The best starting point is usually to find a location. Somewhere accessible and likely to allow the charity race or fun run to take place is a great way to start, and how to get in contact with the owner to organise the event is a good thing to think about here as well. This is where it’ll all start from, after all.
Staff
Staffing these events can be challenging. For charities, often volunteers are the right way to go about this, but some running organisations may well also be able to help with this if you promote it through their channels and follow their procedures, either way, you’ll need some team members present to make sure everything is above board, and of course to kick the whole thing off.
Runners
Possibly the most important point of all is the runners themselves. Think about how much money you need to be taking for the event, how many runners you will need, how that will influence the points above and below, and generally how big you need the event to be for it to be a success in the long run (no pun intended).
Transport
Getting to the event will be something both staff and runners will need to think about when participating in the event. This is where good organisation makes things easy. Ideally, your venue will be publicly accessible, well known in the community, and have public transport access or parking, if not both, to ensure that the event will be convenient and quick to disperse on completion to avoid any issues with the venue.
Registrations
How will you take registrations for your event? Using a website or app is a great way to do it online and save the admin time of things like postal or paper registrations and allow less waiting time to be needed at the event on the day too.
2: Get the Equipment
Once you have a plan on what is actually going to be happening, this is where the finer points can start to be addressed.
Time monitors
Having a stopwatch can be a hard way to keep track of hundreds of runners all at the same time, so technology to track times and speeds is often a great way to make things easy and more formal for the more experienced runners who will be participating. There are gates, trackers and all kinds of other things that you can use to do this that will be most effective for your setup.
Hi-viz
Hi-Viz equipment is a must with any outdoor event. It allows runners to figure out who they need to speak to, who can answer questions, and who can help if any issues occur along the way. Safety first, after all.
Signage
Signage will make sure people can find the event once they arrive and even before if you choose to start your marketing at the event itself.
Cones/Cordons
Planning the route even on the location may be something you need to consider separately, so cones and instructions along the way as well as barriers if needed are all useful tools to have at your disposal, which you can plan for in advance.
Water/Supplies
Water and snacks are often a standard for charity runs and running events in general. They promote healthy habits, ensure precautions are taken for health concerns, and give people ample time to rest during and after the race too, so having these at hand is always best practice.
Donation/Contribution/Merchandise areas
Many events like charity runs and fun runs are organised ahead of time to have merchandise or stalls available for the organisation that is running them. This gives more of a chance to raise money even from external companies and can bring more value to the event overall too. It's a double-edged sword in that sense.
Finisher medals/awards
What really makes an event memorable and even motivates some runners to take part in the first place is a medal or a trophy of some kind. Whether you operate on a tier system, have a participation medal, or choose any other way to award your runners for their achievements, having a good quality and well-designed custom running medal is a great way to go about it.
3: Make It Safe
Safety is paramount when asking the public to do something physical, so safety has to be at the forefront of your event and at every turn in between.
First Aid
First aid kits, equipment and trained staff are all paramount for events like this. Ideally having somewhere people can rest goes a long way too, with trained professionals on hand to help those in need.
Water Points
Water points sound obvious, but having cups, tables, and enough water for each runner is actually something many people might forget about. They should be ideally placed on the route and have waste disposal around too.
Access
Having access to safer areas and for emergency vehicles is a smart thing to do no matter what kind of event you are planning. From fire safety to urgent medical attention, this has all kinds of boxes to tick and may well be a stipulation of the venue, so plan your route with this in mind.
Checkpoints
Checkpoints can be a solid way to ensure you have staff dotted around your route to keep an eye on things and ensure no risks present themselves on the running route. You can utilise laps to help reuse these too.
Traffic/Footfall
For many venues like roads and parks, footfall and traffic might need to be considered before your event can go ahead. Make sure your event has all of the permissions needed to actually happen, as well as ensure the public will be out of the way and safe.
4. Marketing
Lastly, once your event is actually ready to go ahead, you of course need to make sure that people know it’s happening and want to take part (even if not just for the medals or trophies).
Website
Having a website is a fantastic way to promote yourself and your event. Whether it;s a new website for the event, a page on your organisation's website or even using a 3rd party like a running organisation or a fundraising platform, anything that can register runners is going to be a big help.
There are also multiple platforms out there that will share or host your running event online too, linking to your website or acting as the home of your running event’s online space. Websites like run for charity, run for all and Time Outdoors all offer things like this.
Social Media
Once you have somewhere to register your runners and give the essential info, sharing this on social media can go a long way in making sure the public is aware of it happening. Social media is a great way for people to share it with friends and encourage each other, as well as announce their support for charities that mean something to them.
Flyers
Flyers are a tried and tested classic. Give people all of the information that they ended in a format they can stick in their pocket for later and you’re sure to boost your event traffic as long as you give them to the right people or leave them in the right places.
The Checklist for organising a charity running event or fun run
Updated: 03/12/2024