For organisersGuide
Live tracking for a charity ride or fun run
The short answer
Put your charity ride or fun run on livedot: create it in the free Windline app (cycling) or RunFast (running), or ask livedot to set it up with you. Participants join it and go live from their phone or their Garmin, and their families and sponsors follow everyone who chose to be seen on its page at livedot.me, in any browser, and can send them a tap on the back. It's free for organisers, participants and followers, thanks to ProLend.
At a charity ride or a fun run, the people who sponsored a participant want to see them out there, and the families at the finish want to know when they'll arrive. With livedot, each participant who chooses to be seen is a live dot on your route, and their supporters follow from anywhere in a browser, and send a tap on the back when it gets hard. It's free, so nothing comes out of the money you raise. This guide is for organisers of charity rides, fun rides and fun runs, anywhere in the world.
How do I add live tracking to a charity ride or fun run?
Three steps, free.
- Put it on livedot as one event. Create it in the free Windline app for a ride or RunFast for a run, with its route and start time, or tell livedot about it at livedot.me/organisers and a person sets it up with you.
- Participants join it. In the app, they join your event and choose who sees them: the app asks whether to be Findable by anyone. Those with a Garmin add the free livedot app and link it once.
- On the day, they go live. They tap Go live, or press Start on their Garmin near the route at the start time. Supporters follow on the event's page at livedot.me.
Why is it worth it at a charity event?
Because the people who gave money want to be part of the day.
- Sponsors see the effort. A live dot on a 100 km route makes a pledge feel real, and sharing the link can bring in the next sponsor.
- Taps on the back from home. Supporters send one when it gets hard, and the participant sees it arrive. What a tap on the back is.
- The finish line knows who's coming. Families and volunteers see who's still out on the route and when each one should arrive.
- The weather where they are. The wind on every stretch for riders, the heat for runners.
How do I get participants to use it?
Keep it to one ask, and send it twice.
- In the entry email: "Join our event in the free Windline (or RunFast) app, and on the day tap Go live, so your sponsors can follow you."
- The day before: the event's livedot.me link, to share with their sponsors and family.
- At the start: a reminder to tap Go live before the off.
Does it cost anything?
No. It's free for organisers, participants and everyone following, thanks to ProLend, so none of the money you raise goes on tracking. If you'd like the event's live page in your charity's own colours, with your sponsors and the live map on your own website, a bespoke page is $200 per event.
Questions
How do I add live tracking to a charity ride or fun run?
Create it in the free Windline app (cycling) or RunFast (running), with its route and start time, so everyone joins the same event; or tell livedot about it at livedot.me/organisers and a person sets it up with you. Participants join it and go live on the day, and supporters follow on its page at livedot.me.
It isn't a race. Does that matter?
No. Set it up as one event that everyone joins, so all the participants who chose to be seen are on one map. Nobody needs a goal time, and the map shows who's out on the route and who's home.
Can supporters and sponsors cheer from home?
Yes. Anyone following can send a tap on the back, and the participant sees it arrive. On a long charity ride, that's what keeps people going.
What about participants who aren't confident with apps?
They only need to join the event and tap Go live on the day, or press Start on their Garmin near the route. Supporters need nothing: they open a link in any browser.
What does it cost?
Nothing. It's free for organisers, participants and everyone following, thanks to ProLend, so none of the money you raise goes on tracking. The only paid option is a bespoke branded page in your own styling, with your charity's colours and sponsors and the live map on your own website: $200 per event, if you want one.
