How Group and Team Registrations Work

Registering as a group means going through sign-up together with friends, either as one shared checkout covering several runners at once, or as individual registrations linked under a common team or group name. Which option is available depends entirely on how the specific event has set up its registration flow, so it's worth checking before you assume either one applies.

How shared checkout typically works

On events that support it, one person often starts the registration and adds each teammate's details, name, age, category, within the same transaction. On events that don't offer a true shared checkout, each person registers individually and selects the same team or group name during sign-up, which groups everyone together on the participant list and results even though the payments were separate. Neither approach is universal, so check the specific event's registration page rather than assuming.

Individual bibs within a group

Even when you register as a group, each runner still receives an individual bib, timing chip, and result. A group registration is a convenience for signing up and being listed together, not a shared entry or a single result split between people. If the event supports it, coordinating everyone's category choice, 5K, 10K, or half marathon, at the same time avoids the awkward situation of realising later that friends ended up in different start waves.

Coordinating categories and start times

• Confirm everyone in the group is registering for a category with compatible start times if the plan is to run together.
• Check whether the event assigns bibs or start corrals by category or pace, since that affects whether your group actually starts in the same wave.
• Decide on categories as a group before checkout, since changing one afterward isn't always possible or free depending on the organiser's policy.
• Have everyone's personal details ready in advance, correct name spellings, emergency contacts, and kit sizes, since group checkouts move faster when this is prepared beforehand rather than gathered on the spot.

Why runners register as a group

Training toward the same race with friends adds motivation and accountability that's harder to sustain alone, and it pairs naturally with training runs through a local club in the weeks beforehand. It also simplifies race-day logistics, travelling and collecting bibs together rather than coordinating separately, and for a lot of runners it's simply more fun to work toward the same finish line as people they already know.

Group sign-ups are also common for charity and cause-based races, where workplaces or friend circles often register together around a shared cause rather than as individuals.