If you’re reading this, you care about the details, and we love you for it! Here are some differences that you are going to notice at Run Waterloo events in 2025.
Pricing looks different
Not just for Run Waterloo, but all events you’re signing up for on the Race Roster platform are having pricing updates. Where previously you looked at the pre-processing fee price, based on a recent ruling, Race Roster has taken the lead on embedding the fee into the price. So for example where you were previously seeing a $35 fee for the 2025 Re-Fridgee-Eighter 5k, the price you now see is $40.37 to include that fee. The prices have not changed. This is system-wide for all your favourite events on Race Roster and we would expect to see this roll out across many industries.
Note: No prices have increased, and with only very few exceptions, generally speaking Run Waterloo hasn’t changed prices since before 2020 except to add new lower price tiers at a lot of races. We are continuing to make events possible in the face of rising costs by bringing on new sponsors and by growing the size of the events, not by increasing race fees.
Standard categories at all events
In 2024, we rolled out new categories for several of our events, and they were very well received. This year we are rolling them out to all applicable events. For wherever we publish categories, you can expect to see these:
- Age Groups (10 year, or 5 year at large races)
- Male Weight Category (190lbs+, or at large races also 215lbs+)
- Female Weight Category (160lbs+, or at large races also 185lbs+)
- Adaptive Athlete
- Walking
All of these categories are awarded the same, with medal plates for top-3 in any category.
Information booth at events
At all Run Pure events, we will have a new Information Booth in a yellow tent. This will be the primary spot for event information, participant questions, volunteer check-in, and lost and found. We have a great team of volunteers who can staff this tent while kit pickup is open, to help speed up kit pickup and also better address participant needs. We do our best to keep you informed with a thorough email system, but we love to talk to you on race day too!
New deferral compensation for Run Pure and Run Plus
For the past three years, we have run a very popular deferral program where participants can defer their entry for as little as $15, no questions asked. For 2025, we are enhancing this deferral by offering credits for Run Pure and Run Plus race sellouts. In 2024, 7 of our 9 big races sold out, and this has presented us with a clearer picture of what sellouts mean for deferrals. Now, when you defer your entry, if the race is already sold out or ends up selling out, the deferred athletes will be credited with a $15 credit to another event in 2025. For example, if you find out that you won’t be in town for the Cone5togo 5k on March 8, you can defer that entry for $15 and then when the race sells out, you can get that $15 back as a discount on the Baden Running Races on May 25,
Note: this is reflected in some but not all race waivers, but when the language included there is not clear, we are offering this .
