Frequently Asked Questions

Water & Cups

CUP FREE FINISH
All 3W Races events maintain a cup free finish area.  This means that water will be available for refilling your personal water bottles. Biodegradable, cups will be used on the course, but no disposable cups will be available at the finish line. Thank you!

How do I know if I'm actually registered?

There are a few way to double-check if you are registered for a race. On any event's registration page, sometimes there is a tab labeled, "Find a Participant."  Click there and you will be able to search the list of registered runners.

You can also log into Run Sign Up by going to RunSignUp.com -> Click on "profile" in the upper right hand corner -> Scroll down and you'll see all the races you're registered for using the Run Sign Up platform. This is ALL of our events and could include other company's events as well! 

Transfer Distance - Cancel Registration

Race registration fees are non-refundable.  If you already registered and will not be racing with us on race day, you are still welcome to pick up your packet (shirt, bib, goody bag) during advanced packet pick up.

Transferring from distance to distance on the same race day can be done through the registration site directly for no additional fee other than the difference in pricing, if any.  Log in to RunSignUp.com and click on "profile." Scroll down to the appropriate race and click "manage registration. Then you'll click "transfer to another event". You can also transfer to another RACE/event day complete or another runner through that link/

If you want to transfer your registration to a different DATE of a 3W owned event, you can do so by logging into your profile at RunSignUp.com.  We will allow this when requested at least 72 hours BEFORE the start of the event and you can apply what you paid for less $15 for a transfer fee to be applied to another 3W Races Event date in the same calendar year.

Packet Pick Up

Can't make it to advanced packet pick up?  Send a friend, family member or teammate!  We will allow others to pick up for you. 
Yes, there is same day pick up available, usually starting 60-90 minutes before the first race starts.  (See the race schedule for times.)
Avoid the lines; pick up early!  It's not a secret...it makes race day run smoother for everyone when you pick up your gear in advance. 
If you can't make it to advanced packet pick up and have to miss out on the race, you will forfeit your packet.  It will not be held for you to pick up, nor will it be mailed to you under any circumstances. 
If you can't run for any reason, please feel free to still pick up your packet at advanced packet pick up or on race day.

Groups of Five or More

When you have a group of five or more, everyone saves $5! The way this works is as follows:
-Participant 1: Signs up first at full price and creates a TEAM. You will have to create a team name and a password so that only your group can sign up with you. (Click here for info on how to create a team.)
-Participants 2 through 4: Register like normal making sure to join the team, at full price.
-Participant 5 and on: Signs up, joining the team as well, and notices their registration is $5 cheaper! WOO HOO! 
Then, a $5 refund is automatically applied to participants 1 through 4 (assuming they paid at least $5.00 for the race)!
Cool, huh?
Teams must be created or joined at time of registration. Team Rewards/Refunds will not be awarded retroactively. I.E: you must sign up for a team at registration to be eligible for the $5 discount or refund.
Click here for info on how to join a team when registering.
(For races that have a free fun run or 1 Mile Fun run, the $5 discount does not apply nor does it count as one of the minimum of 5 members to receive the discount.

Referral Program

For most of our races we offer a referral program! 

When you register, you get a UNIQUE link that you can share with your friends, family and social media circles. You can also find this link in your CONFIRMATION email. You can always resend your confirmation email to yourself.

Once FIVE people register via clicking that link, you get a refund, automatically. The most you can get back is $20 ($50 for SERIES or PACKAGES), but you will only be refunded the full $20 amount IF you paid more than $25 for a race. I.e. if you registered with a voucher, you WON'T get a referral payment.

Referrals only count when the new registrant pays for a 5k, 10k, 10 miler or half marathon within the SAME event/year, at full price. Races that include a kid's race or free race DO NOT count toward your FIVE referrals. See each race's website for more info.
Referral Tutorial
Apply a referral code retroactively (i.e you friend signed up but DIDN'T use your link)

How Do I Purchase a Gift Cert For A Race For Someone? 

Right now there is not a way to purchase a race-specific gift certificate through the registration site, however you may email us at Info@3WRaces.com and let us know what you'd like to and we'll get you taken care of! Make sure to include the amount,  the race (or if you just want it toward any 3W race), the recipient, and their email.

How Do I Redeem A Gift Certificate

If someone bought you a gift certificate to a specific race, you should have received an email with a registration link and a gift code to enter on the payment page.

Start the registration process by entering all your info and when you get to the payment page, enter your gift code in the box labeled "Gift Certificate" and hit "apply." You'll see your remaining balance on the right and you can finish the payment process.  

My Coupon Code/Gift Certificate/Voucher is not working! Help!

Thanks for your patience, this is an easy fix. First, DO NOT complete your registration. Please email us the voucher/coupon code, a little info on where you got it, and if applicable, a picture of the voucher/gift certificate. We'll get back to you shortly and look into why the code may not be working! If you're on a time crunch because of a price increase, don't worry, we'll honor it when we fix your code. 

Webscorer App Timing

If the webpage for your event says that it is timed with the Webscorer App, you'll want to read this WEBSCORER TIMING FAQ sheet.

Are 3W Races events Bolder Boulder qualifiers? How does that work?

You can find out more on the BolderBoulder FAQ page HERE, but ANY timed race with online race results can be used as a BolderBoulder qualifying race, whether it officially says it or not! :) 

Lots of our ambassadors and team members have done this process and it looks like this:
-Run a race, any race that posts results online!
-When you register for the BolderBoulder online, you'll be prompted to selected  a wave. If it is a wave that requires a qualifying time to get into, there will be another prompt to ask you how you're providing that time.
-You can provide it via an in person treadmill test, use a past BolderBoulder time or you can click, "I will provide an external results link for someone to review."
-Paste in the link to your race's results.
-A few days later, BolderBoulder will email you back with the acceptance of your wave! 

What does it mean to be a 'Charity Partner'?

Every one of our 40+ races in Colorado is partnered with a humanitarian charity operating in the city where the race is held.  Our charity partners are hand selected by our staff and owners and each operation is toured by 3W representatives.  In many cases, our 3W Races Ambassadors and staff also spend time volunteering at our charity partner locations. We do NOT require any additional participation from the charity as a condition to be featured as an event partner.  Most of the charities with whom we partner are already operating with bare-bones staffing/volunteers, so we do NOT tax them with a requirement to provide man-power for event production, etc.
Charity partners receive several benefits from association with 3W: 
1) Awareness.  Because we partner with ultra-local charities, many racers have not heard of the charity.  Participating with us, the charity gains exposure for their mission through website presence and the ability to be present on race day to meet participants.
2) Fundraising/Donations.  Each charity is set up to collect funds contributed by racers during the registration process.  This is completely optional and not forced upon the racer.  Funds donated online go directly to the charity from the collection provider and do not pass through the race company.  In some cases, 3W provides incentives for donations, such as free race entry at certain levels, etc.
3) In Kind Donation Drives.  Every single 3W event features an in-kind donation drive for the charity partner.  3W and its other partner businesses donate prizes (such as t-shirts, massages, race entries, meal services, shoes and other race related products and services.)  The prizes are awarded randomly to those who donated during the in-kind drive at the event.  The in-kind drive is always targeted toward specific items the charity partner finds useful at that specific time or might be running low on. Examples include: canned fruit drive, school supplies drive, toiletries/hygiene product drive, paper products drive and running socks drive.  Through the in-kind donation drive, participants of the race DO WHAT THEY CAN to support the humanitarian efforts in this region without feeling pressured to empty their pocket books.  When participants on the charity's side receive the donated products, they are reminded that the community cares!

Managing Your Registration

Did you know you can easily manage your own RunSignUp profile and race registration? You can change your shirt size, switch distances and even transfer your registration to another runner! 

​To update your personal info (fix a typo in your name, change your email address, etc):
Update your shirt size (your "giveaway"):
Change distances for the same race date (Run Sign Up, our registration platform, refers to the distance you run as the "event"). If you want to transfer to an entirely different race day, see our transfer policy to the left.
Change events/races entirely! (Run Sign Up, our registration platform, refers to each event as the "race." I.e. The Heart Throb 5k vs. the Prairie Dog Half. Yes, we do allow racers to transfers to different races with 72 hours notices. Please note that a in most cases, a $15 transfer fee is applicable.  It will take what you paid for the event you're currently registered for and apply that amount, less $15, toward the new event. NOTE: If you are transferring a race for a second time, you will need us email us or it will charge you the full amount of the new race fee.
Transfer your registration to another runner (bib-exchange between someone you know; requires their email address):
Did you accidentally delete your confirmation email with all the race details or need a receipt? No worries! You can send yourself a new one:
Did you know we'll send your race result via email or test message for FREE? It's pretty sweet! When we are chip timing, this will be in real-time! Awesome, huh? Find out how to enable Text Message and Email Results Notifications. (You wont get spammed, this is for results only):
More:

May I run with headphones?

Yes, you may run with headphones. We just ask that you leave one ear bud out or have the volume low enough to hear important announcements at the start/finish and volunteer/course marshal directions on the course!

May my dog run with me?

For most events, the answer is yes - as long your dog is kept on a leash which is short enough to not interfere with the other runners.  Dogs are prohibited in some races which are held on ROADS in which we share the roadway with automobiles, if there is an extremely narrow section of an out and back course, or a park we run through doesn't allow dogs.  You'll be able to find details about this on each event's 'Course Information' page.

May I run with a stroller?

For most events, the answer is yes.  Strollers are prohibited in some races which are held on ROADS in which we share the roadway with automobiles or if there is an extremely narrow section of an out and back course.  You'll be able to find details about this on each event's 'Course Information' page.

Can my child run with me? Do I have to register them/pay for them?

Of course your kiddo can participate! 

If your child stays in the stroller the whole race, no, you do NOT have to register them as a separate participant. 

Our rule is, if they are using their own two feet to participate in one of our races, then, YES, please register them. This is due to safety, participant counts for city permits and calculation of materials needed for the race!

Shirts

The shirt is the same style, cut and logo design for all distances at one event date. The means the size, fitting, color, logos are DIFFERENT at each event. Each brand of t-shirt fits differently and when we are able, we will show the sizing measurement on the registration pages.

On race day, you may visit the 3W Races table/tent in the expo to exchange shirt sizes or purchase additional shirts while supplies last.

If your shirt size is not listed on the registration page, then we have sold out of that size.  Please select the 'no shirt' option for a $5 discount.  It is possible that some racers will not pick up their packets and you may be able to get a shirt in your size on race day after the race.  Check with the 3W Races table in the expo!

Poor Weather Conditions

The race will NOT be postponed or cancelled due to weather unless something SEVERE is happening such as lightning storm, tornado or white-out conditions.  If that is the case, announcements will be made on our Facebook page and on the race webpage in addition to racer email communication.  99.9% of the time, the race will go on as scheduled.

Why does my GPS watch read a different distance than advertised?

We measure each of our courses using both a Jones Counter (USATF standard) and a bicycle computer.  When doing so, we cut each tangent as much as possible.  When a GPS device pings back and forth to the satellite, it struggles with significant elevation shifts and multiple turns.  So, it is likely that in a course with a lot of hills and or turns, your GPS may read SHORT of the actual distance.  In a relatively flat course, oftentimes a GPS device will read LONG as you may have weaved around other runners or made wider turns than the shortest tangents.

We've found some apps/wearable devices that tend to be more accurate than others when it comes to tracking your distance! Garmin brand GPS watches have received the most accurate reviews from our staff and ambassadors. Phone-based apps such as Charity Miles and Strava also receive high marks from our group.

Where does the money go?

3W Races is a for-profit company with seven employees. 100% of employees live, work, play and raise their families right here in Colorado. 
Racer registration fees pay for the expenses of the event which include permits, insurance, music licensing, SWAG, port a johns, timing chips, bibs, tents, tables, trucks, generators, arches, signage, sound system, cameras, websites, storage, computers, graphic design tools, food, ice, water, trash and recycling removal.  It also pays for the staffers, police and paramedics who work with all of that equipment on the course and at the expo area on race day. 
Unlike 'charity races' that are run by volunteers (which we think is pretty cool for the races that pull it off well!) 3W pays its professional staff to give racers a professional experience.
("Professional Experience means many things including: we start on time, we tell you what you need to know in advance of the race, we know the answers to your questions, our race directors are certified, we know USATF rules, we use technology to be accurate in our operations and communications, we offer premium, gender specific swag/t shirts featuring the event name and not a host of business logos, we have permission to operate when and where we do, we measure courses to the correct measurements, we offer lively music and announcements appropriate in a family atmosphere, we post finisher times online in real time, we use back up timing systems to catch errors or misreads, and we say please and thank you.)
And, unlike 'charity races' that receive many of their swag and food items as donations or get reduced fees on city services, 3W pays for the elements of the race.  3W pays for its swag.  (And pays taxes on it.)  3W pays for items you see, eat, hear and keep on race day.  Your race registration fee is how we do it!

Does 3W Races donate to charity?

In addition to our charity partnership (see question to the left), each year, through our ambassador program, the 3W Races Ambassadors request donations from 3W to the charity of their choice and many thousands of dollars are donated in that manner! 

Do you offer a military discount?

Yes!  Send us your rank and branch to info@3WRaces.com and request a military discount code.  We'll send you a 10% off code that you use on all 3W events throughout the calendar year in which it is requested. (Does not apply to 'packaged or bundled' races or virtual events.)  You'll also receive special use instructions in the email at that time! Note: may be required to show proof at time of packet pick up! 

Something Else?

Contact us at info@3WRaces.com