# Find Your Next Race Prompt Pack **Prepared by Running Well | Scrhoz** *15 simple prompts for choosing a race that suits you, checking the details, planning the day and, if you're raising money, setting up your fundraising page.* ## How to Use This Pack - Copy a prompt, paste it into any AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or similar), and replace each [BRACKETED] part with your own details. - An AI assistant can't know current race dates, entries, prices or what has sold out. These prompts give you questions, criteria and search terms instead, so confirm every detail on the official race website before you enter or book anything. - The AI only needs distances, how your runs feel and your plans. Leave out names and anything personal you'd rather not share. - Treat every answer as a starting point. You know your life and your legs better than the AI does, so choose a race you'll look forward to. > **Note:** These prompts are for general information and planning. They are not medical advice. If you're new to running, returning after illness or injury, or have a health condition, check with your doctor before entering an event or increasing your running, and stop and seek advice if something hurts. AI can get dates, prices and rules wrong, so check them on the official event website. ## Choose a Race ### 1. Set the Ground Rules ``` For this conversation, help me choose and prepare for a running event. You can't know current race dates, entries, prices or what has sold out, so don't state any of those as fact. Give me criteria, questions to ask and search terms instead, and remind me to confirm details on the official event website. Be kind and practical, and don't write training plans or comment on my weight, pain or heart rate. Reply with "Ready" and wait for my first request. ``` *Tip: Paste this first in each new chat. The AI doesn't carry it over.* ### 2. Pick My Distance and Goal ``` I'm a [BEGINNER / RETURNING / REGULAR] runner. My longest recent run is [DISTANCE OR TIME], and I run [NUMBER] times a week. I'd like to take part in an event within about [NUMBER] months. Ask me up to five questions, one at a time, about what I'd enjoy. Then suggest two or three distances worth considering and what finishing each might feel like. Don't write a training plan. ``` *Tip: Pick the distance that makes you smile, not the one that makes you worry.* ### 3. Choose the Right Time of Year ``` I live in [AREA OR COUNTRY]. I'm thinking about a [DISTANCE] event and I'd prefer [COOL / MILD / I DON'T MIND] conditions. List the things I should weigh when choosing a month: usual weather, daylight, how busy my life is and how much time I'd like to prepare. Then tell me what to look for in an event's information about weather, heat and start times. ``` *Tip: A cooler month can make the day more enjoyable, especially for a first race.* ### 4. Terrain and Course Type ``` I'm choosing between road, trail and other terrain for a [DISTANCE] event. I usually run on [SURFACE], and I [LIKE / DON'T LIKE] hills. Explain the differences in plain words, including what each is like to run, and list the questions I should check in an event's course description, such as hills, surface, loops or point-to-point, and how crowded the start is. ``` *Tip: Look at the course map before you enter. An elevation line shows the hills at a glance.* ## Find and Check an Event ### 5. Write My Search ``` I'd like to find [DISTANCE] events near [AREA] between [MONTH] and [MONTH]. Suggest search terms I can type into a search engine, the kinds of official calendars and local running club sites worth checking, and a short list of things to look for on an event's page that suggest it's well run. Don't name specific events or dates. ``` *Tip: Ask your local running club. Members often know the friendliest events.* ### 6. Compare Two Races ``` Here is the information I copied from the websites of two events. Race A: [PASTE DETAILS]. Race B: [PASTE DETAILS]. Compare them side by side on date, distance, terrain, cost, travel, facilities, cut-off times and anything else that matters to a [BEGINNER / RETURNING / REGULAR] runner. Mark anything missing or unclear so I can ask the organisers. Don't choose for me. ``` *Tip: Copy the details from the official pages, so the AI works from the real information.* ### 7. Travel and Budget ``` I'm thinking about entering an event [DISTANCE] from home. Entry fee: [AMOUNT]. Travel: [HOW I'D GET THERE AND THE COST]. Accommodation: [AMOUNT, OR NONE]. Other costs: [KIT, FOOD, PARKING]. Add it all up, show your working, and suggest two or three ways to bring the cost down without spoiling the day. ``` *Tip: Include the small costs. Parking and breakfast add up.* ### 8. Read the Small Print ``` Here is the entry information for an event: [PASTE]. Pull out the things that matter before I pay: entry deadline, cut-off times, refund and transfer policy, what happens if I'm ill or injured, minimum age, kit rules, and anything I'd need to arrange in advance. List any questions I should ask the organisers. ``` *Tip: Check the refund and transfer rules before you pay, in case life gets in the way.* ## Enter and Get Ready for the Day ### 9. Should I Enter? ``` I'm trying to decide whether to enter [EVENT OR DISTANCE] on [DATE]. How my running is going: [DESCRIBE]. What else is happening in my life around then: [DESCRIBE]. Ask me five gentle questions, one at a time, about how I'm feeling about it. Then summarise what I seem to be hoping for and what's giving me pause. Don't push me either way. ``` *Tip: It's fine to enter for fun, and it's fine to wait for another time.* ### 10. What to Expect on the Day ``` I'm about to run my first [DISTANCE / EVENT TYPE] event. Walk me through what usually happens on the day: getting there, registration and numbers, bag drop, toilets, the start area, water stations, the finish and getting home. For each part, tell me what's typical and what I should check in the event information, because every event is different. ``` *Tip: Read the participant information a few days before. Most of the answers are in there.* ### 11. Plan Getting There and Back ``` My event starts at [TIME] at [LOCATION, IF KNOWN], and I'm travelling from [PLACE] by [CAR / TRAIN / OTHER]. Help me plan the journey: what time I should arrive and leave, what to check about parking, road closures or train times, how to meet anyone who's coming to watch, and what I'll need for the journey home. List the things I need to confirm on the event website. ``` *Tip: Allow extra time. Arriving calm is a good start to the day.* ### 12. Questions to Ask the Organisers ``` I'm thinking of entering [EVENT]. Write a short, friendly email to the organisers asking about [LIST YOUR QUESTIONS, E.G. WALKERS, FIRST-TIMERS, ACCESS NEEDS, THE COURSE, WATER STATIONS]. Keep it under [120] words, polite and clear, and don't add personal details I haven't given you. ``` *Tip: Organisers are usually glad to help. A short email is enough.* ## Charity and After ### 13. Set Up a Fundraising Page ``` I'm running [EVENT] to raise money for [CHARITY]. Why it matters to me: [A FEW TRUE SENTENCES]. My goal: [AMOUNT]. Write a short, warm fundraising page of about [150] words in my voice. Use only what I've told you, don't invent facts or figures about the charity, and leave a gap where I can add one specific detail. ``` *Tip: Check the charity's own website for what the money does, and describe it accurately.* ### 14. Thank Your Supporters ``` Write three short thank-you messages for people who've sponsored or supported me: one for a close friend, one for a colleague or neighbour, and one general post for social media. I raised [AMOUNT] running [EVENT]. Keep each one warm and specific, under [60] words, and avoid cliches. ``` *Tip: Send them within a few days, while it's still fresh.* ### 15. The Day After and What's Next ``` I ran [EVENT] [YESTERDAY / LAST WEEK]. How it went: [DESCRIBE]. What I enjoyed: [DESCRIBE]. What I'd do differently: [DESCRIBE]. Ask me four questions, one at a time, about the day, then help me notice what I'd like more of. Suggest a few kinds of event I might enjoy next, without a training plan, and remind me to check dates and details on official sites. ``` *Tip: Take a few easy days first. The next race will still be there.* --- Where to go next, and more from Running Well: - [Running & Training Prompt Pack (12 prompts)](https://scrhoz.com/prompts/running-training-prompt-pack) - [Running Well Couch to 5K](https://scrhoz.com/books/running-well-couch-to-5k) - [Running Well Guide to Running for Fitness](https://scrhoz.com/books/running-well-running-for-fitness) - [Legends, Grit and Glory](https://scrhoz.com/books/legends-grit-and-glory) [More from Running Well](https://scrhoz.com/authors/running-well) Free from [Scrhoz](https://scrhoz.com). Want more simple, useful tools like this? [Join the newsletter](https://scrhoz.com/newsletter).