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The event lifecycle
Every event moves through the same phases. Which phase you are in is decided by the dates you set in Setup → Dates, and the platform changes its own behaviour as each date passes — the public site, the emails and the leaderboard all react without you doing anything.
Knowing which phase you are in explains most "why is this not showing?" questions.
The dotted lines are the overlaps that surprise people: registration usually stays open after the event starts, and fundraising usually continues after it ends.
The phases
1. Setup
Before registration opens. The event exists in the admin panel, but the public site is not meaningfully live yet.
This is the only phase where you can change things freely. Once a real participant has registered, some decisions — mode, and the shape of the signup form — become expensive to reverse.
What you do here: everything in your first event checklist.
2. Registration open
From Registration Opens to Registration Closes.
People can sign up, pay, buy merchandise and pick categories. If your event has not started yet, they are registered but have nothing to do.
Watch for: the first few real registrations. Check that the confirmation email arrived, looks right, and that the payment shows in Payments. Problems found in the first hour are cheap; problems found in week three mean a lot of apology emails.
3. Event running
From Event Starts to Event Ends.
Activities count. The leaderboard updates on a schedule. Achievements unlock. Fundraising totals climb.
Registration may still be open during this phase — the two periods overlap by design, and usually should, because people join once they see friends posting about it.
4. Results and wind-down
After Event Ends, up to Results Date.
Activity syncing stops counting new work towards the event. Final positions settle. Certificates and finisher rewards become available once the results date passes.
5. Closed
After Results Date. The site stays up and remains readable. Leaderboards and profiles keep working as a record of what happened.
The dates that drive it
These live in Setup → Dates, which explains each one in full. In summary:
| Date | What passing it changes |
|---|---|
| Registration Opens | The signup form starts accepting entries |
| Registration Closes | Signup stops |
| Free Registration Ends | Free entry stops; paid entry continues |
| Profile Update Deadline | Participants can no longer edit their own details |
| Event Starts | Activities begin counting |
| Event Ends | Activities stop counting |
| Results Date | Final results and finisher rewards are released |
| Opt-Out Deadline | Last day to withdraw |
| Upgrade Window Opens / Closes | The period for buying reward upgrades |
| Fundraising Opens / Closes | The period donations are accepted |
Dates are the most common cause of "it is not working"
If something is not appearing on the public site and you cannot see why, check the dates before anything else. A registration form that will not open, a leaderboard showing nothing, and a donate button that does not appear are all far more often a date issue than a bug.
Phases do not have to be sequential
Two overlaps are normal and deliberate:
- Registration open during the event. Late signups are the norm, not the exception.
- Fundraising past the event end. Donations often continue for weeks after the activity finishes, which is why the fundraising period has its own dates rather than following the event dates.
Preparing for the next phase
The work for each phase happens in the one before it. Before registration opens, the form and payments must be tested. Before the event starts, Strava syncing must be confirmed working. Before the results date, check that the leaderboard reflects reality.
Each of those checks is in the relevant section of this guide.