Trail & ultra

Volunteer management for trail and ultra marathons

Stop running a 40-point mountain course off a spreadsheet, a group chat and a printed map. mrshl maps every junction and aid station, staffs it, and hands each marshal a brief that tells them exactly where to stand and when runners arrive.

  • GPX course import & pin mapping
  • Per-point ETAs from your pace bands
  • PDF marshal briefs with what3words
How it works

From GPX to fully briefed marshals

The same four steps whether you're staffing a 25km trail race or a 160km mountain ultra.

01

Map the course

Upload your GPX, drop pins on every junction, aid station and road crossing, and store what3words for each point.

02

Recruit volunteers

Share one signup link. Volunteers pick a point and shift on their phone — no account, no spreadsheet, waiver captured at signup.

03

Allocate shifts

Assign people to points, see gaps close live, and cover multi-lap or two-way sections with the right headcount.

04

Brief and check in

Auto-generate a PDF marshal brief per person with map, first and last runner ETAs, parking and radio channel — then check people in on race morning.

FAQ

Trail & ultra marshal questions

How do I manage marshals on a 100km course?

mrshl works point-by-point rather than by role list. Every junction, aid station and crossing becomes a course point with its own shifts, instructions, ETAs and WhatsApp group, so a 100km route with 40 points stays as manageable as a 10km.

Can it calculate when runners reach each marshal point?

Yes. Set a front-runner pace and a sweeper pace per race, and mrshl computes first-runner and last-runner ETAs at each point from the GPX distance, then prints them on each marshal brief.

Do volunteers need to download an app?

No. Volunteers sign up through a mobile web form and receive a link to their own brief. Nothing to install.

What about multi-lap and two-way sections?

Points can be flagged as two-way and can appear on multiple passes per race, each with its own distance and instructions, so lapped courses and out-and-backs brief correctly.

Staff every station, shift and crew with confidence

Less race-week chaos, fewer no-shows, and a volunteer team that knows exactly where to be.