Frequently Asked Questions

Run Mate by Core-Lean Lac Léman is a relay race (2 to 9 runners) around Lake Geneva over 2 days and one night. Run Mate by Core-Lean may be a race, but first and foremost, it is a shared adventure.

Put all your Mates in a van (or in two cars if you don’t have a van) and get them to run about 215 km around the biggest lake in Switzerland and France! There will be approximately 28 relay legs in all, from 3 to 13km in length, which makes around 25 km per Mate (if you are more than 8) with varying levels of difficulty according to how your team is organised.

Only one runner at a time is allowed on the course, while the other Mates can rest, cheer on their runner or complete the challenges!

While the runner is on the course, the van has to drive to the next relay point to wait for him or her. The Mates only have telephone contact with the runner to encourage or help if he or she goes the wrong way. They are not allowed to follow the runner on the course.

FREEDOM is the key word here. You can plan the legs as you wish.

One runner might only run one relay leg during the entire race. But one runner could also run two, three or four legs in a row if he or she feel like it. There is no minimum or maximum number of relay legs to do per runner.

Yes, everything will be communicated to you in the Roadbook closer to the event. 

The organisers’ main role during the event is to ensure that the Mates stay safely on the signed course. If they do get into trouble the organisers will contact them by phone.

They will be in phone contact with the organisers and with their runner. Their role is to pass on important information.

If your runner takes a wrong turn, the organisers will contact you and you in turn will have to contact your Mate in order to help him or her to get back on track.

No, no roads will be closed for the race. You will run on tracks, paths and pavements with a minimum number of roads to cross. Where there are roads to cross this will mainly be on pedestrian crossings. On the few occasions where this is not the case, there will be marshals present (from the organising team) to help you cross.

70% of the course will be on the road, 30% trails.

YES Absolutely! Since it’s up to each team to decide how to run the race you can run just one leg of 3km or you can run a lot more if you are up to it. If you spread the legs in a roughly equal way between each runner, you will each run a half-marathon (if you are more than 8) but over 24 hours and with a nice long rest in between each section!

1. The Captain registers his team on the registration platform
2. The Captain enters his personal information
3. The Captain pays
4. The Captain forwards the link received in the confirmation email under “Add a Mate”.
5. The Mates go to the link, click on “Join the team” and fill in their personal information.

You have until September 22rd, 2023 to register your team online. It will be possible to register on the weekend of the event on the village, subject to space availability.

No, no registration transfers are allowed.

Yes your team name can be changed until August 15th, 2023. To do so, you can write us an email at the following address: contact@runmate.org.

Yes, for that, the future Captain must already be registered in the team (see question “How to add / delete or change a Mate in my team” in the section “Registration”).

As soon as this is done, you can write us an email at the following address contact@runmate.org giving us the name of the old and new Captain.

You can join the Facebook group of the event “Run Mate-Trouve tes Mates” many riders are still looking to join teams. Don’t hesitate to browse through the announcements or post your own.

To add Mates, simply :

• Return to the confirmation email received by the other mates
• Click on “Add a Mate”.
• Fill in the personal information of the new Mate on the following page

Each teammate can carry out the procedure himself and add to the team.

To delete a Mate :

Just write us an email at the following address: contact@runmate.org with the name and surname of the person you want to remove from your team.

You will then be able to add a new person in his place by following the procedure above.

Any changes can be made online until the end of online registration on September 22th at 11.59 pm. After this date, modifications will have to be made at the bib collection.

To see all the members of your team, just click on the "Add Mate" button in the confirmation email you received. 

Equipment required (per vehicle)

The equipment below must be presented at the bib collection. If you do not have the necessary equipment you will not be allowed to start the race.

• Identity card (or copy) of each mate
• At least 2 headlamps (with spare battery)
• At least 2 high visibility vests (any person outside the van during the night must wear a high visibility vest for safety reasons)
• At least 2 driving licenses
• At least 2 phones (with chargers)
• 1 First Aid kit per vehicle (3-4 survival blankets, disinfectant, plasters, dressings, self-adhesive strapping)

Optional equipment

• One water bottle per person (no plastic bottle will be provided. Drinking water points will be present at almost every relay points)
• Your race drinks and food (only a few snacks will be provided in the race pack at the start)
• Pillows/blankets
• Sun cream and other protective items for race running
• Your swimwear (beaches are waiting for you!)
• A smartphone armband
• Charged portable batteries for your telephones
• Charging system suitable for your vehicles
• A camera to take pictures and videos to complete the “Le pro de la camera” challenge
• Your costumes for “Le carnaval des Mates” challenge
• Hand sanitizer

• GPS beacon and live-tracking for each team
• Individual race number for each person of the team
• Professional medical team for the duration of the race
• Relay points equipped with toilets, relaxation areas, car parks and recycling bins
• Super relay points with a medical team available, liquid refreshments
• Snacks for the team (ex: cereal bars)
  
• A pack to decorate your vehicle
• Race timing with a result for each team
• A medal for each member of each team
• A gift for each member of each team
• Entertainment activities
• Prizes for the winner of the challenges
• Live tracking for the team but also for family and friends
• Convivial meal at the finish for all the teams
• Photos and videos of the event

No, the organisers will supply no vehicles.

You are encouraged to use, if possible, one vehicle per team and preferably an electric or hybrid vehicle out of respect for the environment.

Only one vehicle per team will be authorized in the car parks of the various relay points provided by the organisation in order to avoid any overload.

Don’t forget that a key part of the adventure will be the decoration of your team vehicle! We will provide you a base kit to decorate your vehicle but don’t hesitate to take some decorations with you.

Access to the relays and refreshment posts is mainly on foot. You will have the possibility to park your vehicle not far from the relays. So yes, it is possible to make the journey with a camper but be careful, some car parks can be difficult to access for camper vans (manoeuvring, maximum height allowed…). Information on the car parks will be provided in the Roadbook closer to the event.

The driver of the van or of the vehicles doesn’t necessarily have to be one of the runners or part of the team. There can be a second driver as well. The team Captain can book a meal for the end-of-the race meal on the registration platform.

Yes, you and your friends will be able to follow your Mate live via on the website from Saturday to Sunday.

The organisers strongly discourage running with headphones. If you do choose to use them, you do it at your own risk and you must comply with the following rules:

• You must be able to hear the traffic
• You must be aware of the noise around you
• You must be able to hear the instructions of course officials spoken at a reasonable volume (without shouting)

Two weeks before the event you will have your precise schedule.

Intello Quiz

- A smartphone to scan the QR code

Le carnaval des mates

- Your best costume

Compost for power by Energiapro

- Gloves (gardening, latex, etc…)

My Legs Are Better Than Yours

- Your legs

- The special bib to time your performance 

Le pro de la caméra

- A camera to film your adventure

Here are a few links of car rental in Switzerland:

• http://www.swissrentcar.ch

• https://www.aloccars.ch/

• https://www.thrifty.com/

• https://www.europcar.ch/en

• https://www.sixt.ch/

• https://www.hertz.ch

Most “normal” relay points will have toilets and a water supply to refuel your bottles. A precise map is available in the Roadbook.

On the super relay points a small solid supply (fruit, cereal bar) will be provided in addition to water and isotonic drink.

We will provide you with a relay bracelet with the team GPS markers in it and a bib per team member. When passing the relay, you only have to send the relay bracelet.

No dedicated space will be provided by the organization. We encourage you to organize your vehicle so that your nap is comfortable. The edge of the lake and the relay points will also be places for napping.

We set time barriers corresponding to the theoretical run times of the last rider. If a team exceeds the time limit, the organisation reserves the right to ask an off-times team to “skip” one or more relays (i.e. not to run it and to go with your vehicle to the relay point indicated by the organisation). This will automatically result in the team not being classified (DNF) but the team will still be allowed to finish the race.

If you are too much in advance, the organisers reserve the right to stop a team at a relay point for an undetermined period of time in order to avoid congestion on the course and to respect the current sanitary measures. Any time stopped at a relay point will be deducted from your overall time.

Yes, you will simply need to retrieve the GPS beacon and pick up where your mate left off.

• The runner calls his team who will come and pick him or her up
• As each team is free to plan the relay stages as they see fit, any other runner from the team can replace an injured runner, while the latter can get back in the vehicle
• The replacement runner must continue the race at the place where the other stopped and take the GPS beacon of the former runner.
• If there is a vital emergency, call one of the emergency numbers according to which country you are in (Vital Emergency in Switzerland: 144 / Vital Emergency in France: 15)
• If there is no urgency you can consult our medical team at each Super Relay points.

An alarm system will allow the organisers to be the first to know if a runner deviates significantly from the course. The organization will contact the team captain to explain him/her the situation. The captain will be in charge of contacting his/her mate to warn him/her.

If you haven’t been contacted by the organisation, you can call them at the Race control number (available in the Roadbook).

If you can no longer see the signs on a certain section, check your position on the route using the maps.me application.

Each Mate must respect the highway code and the race environment. Please refer to our safety guide to ensure that runners stay safe at all times.

The course is not 100% signed, but the main junctions, changes in direction and other less obvious routes will be marked.

The markers will be visible by night. An example can be found in the safety guide.

High visibility vests are mandatory for the night portion of the race. The organisers reserve the right to disqualify any teams behaving in an unsafe manner.

There are several ways to find your way around the course:

- Use the maps.me route planner. The application is available for free on the App Store and Play Store. The route planner for runner and vehicle will be available closer to the event.

- Get your bearings with Google Maps.

- Get your bearings with the live course on our website the weekend of the event.

- The map of the route is available in the Roadbook.

- Markers are set up along the route with fluorescent pink signs at night. The arrows indicate the direction to follow. Cross-shaped signs will tell you if you are going in the wrong direction.

No, you must run obligatorily with the GPS beacon AND the mobile phone for safety reasons. We strongly recommend that you download the maps.me application.

Yes, you and your friends will be able to follow your Mate live via on the website from Saturday to Sunday.

 We prohibit the tracking of the person on the bike as some places are narrow and can cause falls. However, if you wish to run relays in pairs, this is possible. You are free to choose the organisation of your runners and relays. The Run & Bike is not allowed.

Absolutely! Usually, you will have about 30 minutes of beat time between two relays.

Of course! Many gifts are planned to reward the winning teams! So you’ll have to give it all!

We strongly recommend it!! This challenge is celebrated as a team.

• The relay belt (which is the equivalent of a relay baton) on which there is the team’s GPS beacon
• The individual bib must be worn on the front and must be visible
• A charged telephone so you can be reached at any time by your Mates. Don’t forget that if you get lost, the organisation will contact your captain and the captain will contact you
  

​Run Mate by Core-Lean Lac Léman requires a certain organisation for the race. We advise you to read this article, written by a former participant, on the race organisation during the weekend of the event by clicking here.