This is the full text of the standard behind the Better Race badge. It is written to be read by runners, not lawyers. Any race organization, on any registration platform, may adopt these commitments; displaying the badge additionally requires signed membership in the Better Race Network and acceptance of the accountability policy below.
1The real price
Members make the cost clear before a runner commits.
- Mandatory charges — entry, processing, platform, and any other unavoidable fee — are clear before a runner commits to pay, not revealed at the final step.
- Optional purchases are identified as optional.
- Advertised prices are prices a runner can actually pay; a "from" price that no one can obtain is a misrepresentation.
- Price increases and deadline tiers are dated and published in advance.
2Honest race information
Members describe their events as they actually are.
- Course or event format, advertised distance, terrain or elevation where relevant, timing method, awards and included amenities are described accurately on the race website.
- Certification and measurement claims are made only when true, and stated precisely.
- When something material changes — course, venue, date, timing, amenities — the change is announced publicly and registered participants are notified directly, as promptly as is reasonably practical.
3Clear policies, up front
Members publish the rules of the transaction before asking anyone to enter it.
- Refund, transfer, deferral, and cancellation policies are posted where a runner can read them before registering.
- Weather and force-majeure handling is described in advance, including what happens to entry fees if the event cannot be held.
- Policies are applied consistently and in good faith. Organizers may make reasonable exceptions, particularly ones that benefit a participant, provided they don't unfairly disadvantage others. What this forbids is arbitrary treatment, not kindness.
4Respect for runner data
Members treat participant information as something held in trust.
- Participant information is used for legitimate event purposes — running the race, timing and results, safety and medical response, photography, communication with participants, and required reporting — and for other uses disclosed to participants. It is never sold.
- Service providers who handle participant data on a member's behalf are held to the same expectations.
- Third-party marketing to participants happens only with clear permission, and every message offers a working way out.
- Members take reasonable care in how participant data is stored and who can access it.
5Every participant counts
Members put on races for the whole field, not just the front of it.
- First-timers, walkers, back-of-pack participants, kids and adaptive athletes receive the finish experience the race promised, within its published limits.
- Time limits and participation requirements are published clearly and honestly, and reflect genuine safety, permit and course requirements rather than convenience.
- Volunteers and staff are treated as part of the event, and participants are expected to treat them that way too.
6We answer
Members respond to the people who trusted them with an entry fee.
- A working contact method is published on the race website, and reasonable participant questions and concerns receive a response.
- When something goes wrong — a course error, a timing failure, a shortage — members acknowledge it plainly and say what they are doing about it.
- Members acknowledge or substantively respond to concerns forwarded by the Better Race Network within 14 days. Full resolution can take longer; the response is what's promised.
7Community over short-term gain
Members act like the future of local running depends on them, because it does.
- Members respect the places and communities that host their events, minimize avoidable impact, and leave courses, venues, parks and neighborhoods clean and in good standing, so races remain welcome there.
- Required permits, approvals and insurance are in place, and safety planning is appropriate to the event — a race that endangers participants or hosts endangers every race after it.
- Members deal honestly with the vendors, timers, photographers, charities, and communities that make race day possible.
8Respect the work of other races
Members build their own events and serve runners on their own merits.
- We do not copy another race's distinctive identity — its name, logo, branding, artwork or event identity — or adopt something confusingly similar, in ways that could lead runners to believe our race is that race, part of it, or affiliated with it.
- Original work belongs to the people who made it. We use another organizer's creative, written, or photographic work only with permission, and we credit it honestly.
- Common race themes and ideas belong to the running community. Turkey trots, costume runs, beach races, glow runs and the rest are nobody's property — what's protected is a race's distinctive identity and its original work.
- We serve runners with better events, better service, and fair prices — never with imitation, deception, or another event's reputation.
- Disputes about names or copying follow the same accountability process as everything else: the network forwards concerns and tracks responsiveness.
Accountability policy
The badge is a commitment, not a trophy. This section describes exactly what enforcement looks like — and what it doesn't.
What membership means
A current member has publicly signed this standard, keeps the commitments above, and has agreed to the response process below. Membership does not certify that an event is well-produced, enjoyable, or error-free, and it is not an endorsement of any race's quality.
What membership covers
Membership applies to the organizing entity, and its commitment covers every event that entity owns or directly operates. The badge may be displayed on those events — and only those. It may not be displayed on events a member merely times, sponsors, or promotes for someone else, and it may not be displayed selectively while a member's other events ignore the standard.
Founding Organization · 2026 is a historical designation and stays accurate permanently. Member · Better Race Network describes current standing, and is displayed only while membership is active.
How concerns are handled
- Anyone may send a concern about a member race to hello@betterracenetwork.com.
- Please contact the organizer first and give them a chance to put it right — unless the concern involves safety, fraud, harassment, serious misrepresentation, or you can't reach them at all.
- The network forwards the concern to the organizer and logs it. The organizer commits to acknowledge or substantively respond within 14 days. Full resolution may take longer.
- The network's role is forwarding and tracking responsiveness. We do not adjudicate outcomes: we do not decide whether a refund was deserved, whether a course was pleasant, or who was right in a dispute.
- Open or unresolved concerns are not published as findings of wrongdoing.
What costs a race its badge
- A pattern of non-response — repeatedly ignoring participants or concerns forwarded by the network.
- Factual misrepresentation — demonstrably false statements about pricing, course, certification, policies, the race's identity or affiliation, or the badge itself.
- Continuing to display the badge after membership ends.
Removal follows a documented process: written notice describing the issue, 30 days to respond or remedy, then a decision recorded in the network's log. A removed organization may reapply after one year.
Governance & disclosure
The Better Race Network was founded in 2026 by the organizers of A Better World Running, which has produced affordable, community-centered races in Southern California since 2011, with technology support from Race Ascend.
Three commitments govern how the network itself operates:
- Platform-neutral membership. Joining never requires Race Ascend or any particular registration platform, and no membership or removal decision is ever based on what software a race uses.
- An open standard. The text of the Better Race Standard is released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) — any race organization may copy, adapt, and adopt it, with credit, with or without membership. The Better Race Network name, the badge, and the network's marks are not part of that license and may be displayed only by current members.
- Founding-member voice. Changes to this standard are published as numbered versions, and founding members review every draft before adoption. Version 1.0 stands through at least the 2027 season.
- No retroactive rules. A new version never changes the promise a member already signed. Where a revision changes the promises materially, members get advance notice and affirm the new version before being represented as pledged to it.
- A founding council at ten. When the network reaches ten member organizations, a council of three to five people — independent race directors plus a runner representative — takes over review of standard revisions and any contested badge removal.
Questions about the standard, the policy, or the network: hello@betterracenetwork.com.