Most race organisers set their ticket price by looking at what a similar event charged last year. That is the fastest way to lose money or lose runners. A good price starts from your own costs, moves in clear stages, and shows the athlete exactly what they are paying before they reach the payment screen.
Here are five simple rules to price your next running, cycling or triathlon event, plus what to do if your event is free.
Why pricing decides your sign-ups
An athlete deciding whether to book is asking three questions: is this worth it, is this the best time to buy, and will I get my money back if plans change? Your price, your deadlines and your refund line answer all three. Get them clear and people book early. Leave them vague and people wait, which leaves you guessing your numbers until the last week.
The five rules
1. Start from your cost per athlete
List every cost: permissions, timing, medals, bibs, T-shirts, water and nutrition stations, medical cover, volunteers' food, photography and marketing. Divide the total by a headcount you are confident of, not the number you hope for. Then add a buffer for surprises. That figure is your floor. Anything you charge above it pays for growth.
Watch out for: pricing on your best-case headcount. If sign-ups fall short, every ticket loses money.
2. Use two or three price windows with real dates
A lower early price rewards the athletes who commit first and gives you cash and confidence months before race day. Put a real date on each window and stick to it. If the early price quietly stays open, runners learn that deadlines don't matter and stop booking early next year.
Keep it simple: three windows is plenty. More than that confuses people.
3. Show the full price, tax included
Nothing kills a booking faster than a price that jumps at the last step. The big races do this well. The Tata Mumbai Marathon 2027 lists its half marathon fee for applicants living in India as ₹3,500, clearly marked "inclusive of GST @18%", with a separate fee for overseas applicants. Do the same: one clear figure per category, and say whether tax is included. Check the right GST treatment for your event with your accountant.
Bonus: athletes and companies that reimburse entries want a proper invoice. Make sure every booking produces one.
4. Give coupons a job and an end date
A coupon should bring in someone you would not get otherwise: a running club that books 20 places, last year's finishers, or a partner's employees. Give each coupon its own code, a limit and an expiry date, so you can see which ones work. Avoid one big public discount code. It just lowers the price for people who would have paid in full anyway.
Good for: filling the middle weeks, when early buzz has faded and race day still feels far away.
5. Put your refund and transfer rules next to the price
Athletes book months ahead, and life gets in the way. Say clearly whether you offer refunds, up to what date, and whether a place can move to another person or another category. A clear "no refunds after this date" is better than silence. People are far more willing to book early when they know where they stand.
Watch out for: making exceptions for some people and not others. Write the rule once and apply it to everyone.
Athletes don't mind paying for a well-run event. What they mind is confusion: a price that changes at checkout, a deadline nobody respects, a refund rule nobody can find. Be clear, be fair, keep your word on dates, and runners will book early and come back next year.Amit Daga, Founder and CEO, Feet and Pedals®
Running a free event? Still use tickets
Community runs, club rides and charity walks often skip registration because there is no money to collect. That leaves you guessing how many people will turn up, how much water to carry and how many medals to order.
A free ticket fixes that. You get a headcount and contact list, every participant gets an e-ticket with a QR code, and your volunteers can check people in at the start line. On Feet and Pedals®, free events carry a 0% management fee.
What selling tickets on Feet and Pedals® costs
From the organiser panel you can create your event and tickets, add coupon codes, check athletes in with volunteers on race day, issue GST invoices, and manage payouts and refunds.
Our Early Bird offer is open to the first 25 organisers or until 31 October 2026, whichever comes first. It includes a 90-day trial from the day you activate the Trial Plan, up to 10 event listings, and for the whole trial: ₹0 subscription charges, ₹0 payment gateway charges and a 0% management fee. Subject to offer terms.
Questions? Write to amit@feetandpedals.com or WhatsApp +91 92207 22803. The organiser manual walks you through setup step by step.
Put your event in front of runners, cyclists and triathletes across India, and join the early organiser network of a growing athlete ecosystem.
