Story added: 1st September 2025

Rules worth running by

It’s race week! We can not wait.

At Run Norwich we’re all about creating a great race, in our fine city with good vibes for runners and spectators alike – from start to finish. This involves, keeping everyone safe so, please find below a quick reminder about three important race rules that we ask everyone to adhere to ahead of race day.

First up – let’s talk headphones

We know a banging playlist of your favourite podcast can help those kilometres fly by (especially Rose Lane!) but traditional earphones and headphones are NOT allowed on the Run Norwich course.

Why? Because we need you to be able to hear everything – whether it’s a safety instruction from a marshal, an alert from the police, or the sound of an emergency vehicle approaching. Being aware of your surroundings is vital to keep you, and your fellow runners, safe. Read Charlotte’s story here, a wheelchair participant in #RN25, to understand why this is so important.

Bone-conductions headphones, however, are the exception to the rule! These clever devices sit on your cheekbones in front of your ears, leaving your ears free to stay alert and aware. So, if you want to run with sound, that’s the way to go.

Next, bib swapping: Why it’s a big no-no!

We get it – life happens. Maybe training hasn’t gone to plan, or a last-minute injury means you can’t take part. As tempting as it might be to pass your bib onto a friend or colleague; you absolutely cannot give your race bib to someone else.

Here’s why this is so important:

• Your bib is the link to your emergency contact details in our system
• If something happens during the race and we need to assist you medically or urgently contact your next of kin, we rely on that bib information being correct.
• If another runner is wearing your bib and something goes wrong, we won’t know who they are or how to help them quickly – and that’s a serious risk.
• Results integrity: bib swapping can skew results and affect the accuracy of age group prizes and overall rankings. (for example if Linda, a 58-year old mother gave her bib to Billy, her 20-year old son, unless we spot it – her son could potentially deny someone rightfully winning a prize in their category. e.g. the Billy would finish as 58-year old Linda in results!)

Run Norwich is a UK Athletics affiliated race, so if you’re caught bib swapping, it could lead to disqualification, a ban from all future Run Norwich events and potentially a ban from other UKA races nationally as well.

We don’t take that lightly. Your safety is our top priority.

Finally, cut off times

To help keep the event safe and running smoothly, we need to set a cut-off time for completing the race. Participants who have not reached the halfway point (5km) within one hour of their start time, or the 7.2km checkpoint within one and a half hours, will be advised that they can still continue but will only receive a medal and appear in the official results if they finish the course within the overall cut-off time of two hours from their start.

If a participant is unable to meet these times, they may be asked to withdraw from the race. Alternatively, they can choose to continue at their own risk along the public pavement (which will not be marshalled), so that we can reopen the city and return it to normal as quickly as possible.

So, let’s keep it easy – stick to the rules and we’ll all have an amazing race! Thank you.