Frequently Asked Questions

There are many reasons someone might enjoy participating in an organized race.

For some, it is the camaraderie and sense of community that comes with being around people doing the same thing as you.

Others find it more enjoyable to be with others, running on the same course at the same time and feel more motivated to push hard and achieve their running goals.

A lot of runners love participating in races because it gives them a chance to go to new places that they would otherwise never see.

Many just like being given an exact time to start, a course to follow, an exact place to finish and support with water and such while they are out there.  It takes away a lot of the thinking and planning and allows them to focus on the part they enjoy the most: the actual running.

Lots of people run for the shirt, the medal or even the bragging rights of finishing a long distance or tough race.

The most common reason is that it is just fun and makes them happy!

You won't be out of place at all and you won’t be alone.  Our races are planned for participants of all abilities -- including walkers. In addition to the longer distances offered, we will usually have shorter distances like 5k or 10k.

For all our races we have pre-race bib pick-up available at running stores before the race, usually the two days immediately preceding race day.  We also offer mail-out service for race bibs and shirts.  In most cases, bibs can be picked up on race morning, but this can add time and require arriving earlier to a race, so we recommend getting it ahead of time whenever possible.

At most races, yes.  The Double Dipsea race does not allow headphones and it is possible that there may be other races where, for safety reasons, headphones are prohibited.  We recommend that you check the FAQ section of any race you are planning to run in to be sure.

For the majority of races, where headphones are allowed, we ask that you keep the volume down at a safe level so that you can hear other runners or instructions from event personnel.  We also ask that you remove them (at the very least, remove one ear bud) when you are coming to water stations, in a large crowd or on more technical or difficult sections of the course.

The important thing is paying attention to everyone's safety and maintaining basic race etiquette with other runners.

We do not.

There are many different ways that other race organizations price their race entries, but it has always been our policy that we would never promote an even slightly bloated price, then offer "discounts" that would end up being used by only some of our runners.  We believe that while everybody likes getting a “special discount”, this method also has the unintended consequence of penalizing those who (for whatever reason) do not find out about the discount/coupon.

Every runner who signs up for our races is "special" and gets the "group discount" from the start, because they are part of the large group running that race. All of our races are composed of several hundred runners (sometimes thousands) and it is because of these numbers that we can offer a very high level of quality in every aspect of the race, while still charging an entry fee well below what you might expect or find at comparable events elsewhere.

We do offer a discount to those who sign up early, since early sign-ups allow us to plan better and lower the overall costs of the race. Similarly, we include an additional charge for those who sign up late, since the accommodation of race entries in the last two weeks before a race increases the per-runner cost.

The other exception for discounts is for those who volunteer at one race and then participate at a later one. Those volunteers receive a discounted (and sometimes free) race entry.

Yes, we have age group categories, usually in 5-year divisions.  Check the “awards” section of the race you are doing to confirm the exact age groups.  Age group medals are awarded to first, second and third place.

No. Severe weather or demands of the permitting agencies might cause a course is modified, but we will not cancel for rain or heat. An Act of God, such as an earthquake or other natural disaster that would close down the area of the race, could cause a race to be cancelled, but this has never happened in the hundreds of races we have been involved with.

We do not offer transfers to future races, deferrals or refunds. Putting on a endurance event can be a very expensive (and financially risky) endeavor. To a small extent, that risk gets shared by all who enter, since injuries, personal emergencies, unexpected schedule conflicts, deaths, births and plain, old "life happening" can and will ruin plans for participation.

Since all race costs and expenses have been paid out well before race day, there is no financial gain for a race if a person participates or stays home. We want everybody who registered to be happy, so we much prefer everybody show up!

Although we do not offer transfers to future races, deferrals or refunds, with most races we will offer credit toward a future race if you contact us enough in advance, typically 50% for notice within 72 hours of race start and 75% if notice is received at least two weeks before race start.

Please check the race credit policies of your specific race. That information can usually be found in the FAQ section.

For most races, transfer to someone else is allowable up to a set time before the race (usually two or three weeks).  This can typically be done via the online registration provider for the race.  

Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on our race courses.  We love dogs, but there are those who are not so comfortable around them and there are also dogs that are uncomfortable around hundreds of other people (large and small, fast and slow).  We have no doubt that your dog is a perfect gentleman/lady, but we simply have no way to be sure about all the other dogs and thus we have a “no dogs on course” policy.

No, it is not.  While the parks where races take place are typically open to the public, and running in the park at the same time as an event is totally fine. Those entering into the start/finish area or intentionally jumping into the race just after the start, using the marked course, racing against other runners, etc. are essentially freeloading off of the race and the other runners, regardless of whether they take aid station supplies, medals or other race supplies.

Permits, insurance and race materials for events are obtained with set numbers of participants planned and accounted for.  Costs for events are also planned, taking into account those numbers and sharing the race costs among all entrants.

When people “bandit” a race they jeopardize the race’s ability to come back, create potential for problems for other runners trying to determine their place in the race and for support personnel to identify participants and (if necessary) provide emergency support.  Like shoplifting, being a race bandit does not cost the person taking anything, but the cost ultimately goes to the people who follow the rules and pay for the product/service.

Remote racing is a service for runners who are physically unable to make it to a race, but still wish to train for and achieve a running goal as part of the race. This includes persons who live far from urban areas with races and those with schedules that simply will not allow them to be present (due to work or family demands). Runners receive race materials via mail and then can report back on their run and share their accomplishment with other runners in the Brazen Racing community. This can be done alone or with a group of runners.

Running remotely will never be as good as running in person at the actual event, but for those with no other options, it offers a way to stay connected to their running community to help them commit to and celebrate their running achievements.

After 10+ years of operation and hundreds of races, we have never had to cancel an event. And we have and always will make every effort to be present an event as planned or as closely to the original plan as possible.

There is, however, always a possibility of a race being affected by circumstances out of our control. This would include things such as earthquakes, floods, extreme weather, civil unrest, pandemics, unsafe air quality and other “Acts of God.”

Refunds, deferrals and transfers will not be issued for events cancelled for these reasons.

Registrants of any cancelled race will be offered the opportunity to collect their race materials (including shirts and medals) in-person or by mail.

If a race was cancelled, why wouldn’t everyone just get full refunds?

If we were able to predict natural disasters and such months ahead of time, there would be no problem canceling an event and issuing refunds. In reality, such circumstances typically develop shortly before the event takes place, after virtually all race expenses have already been incurred.

We are a relatively small organization and wish to continue producing races into the future. For this reason, we require our registrants to share this risk with us.

Just go to the the "become a sponsor" page and fill out the form there.  We will be in touch as soon as possible!