Urme pe Play 2026: a thousand runners, a hundred volunteers, one platform
At a glance
1,000
runners over two days
~100
volunteers managed on bibde
5
tracks, plus a kids’ race
45
stations and checkpoints staffed
On 25–26 April 2026 the mountains around Sibiu hosted the biggest Urme pe Play so far: two days, five tracks — ultramarathon, marathon, half marathon, cross and Fugut, the track for beginners — a kids’ race, and about a thousand runners. Behind every start, water point and finish line stood about a hundred volunteers, and every one of them was managed on bibde.
Two days, five tracks, a kids’ race
Urme pe Play is organized by Clubul Montan Sibiu. The weekend opened on Saturday with the two long tracks, the ultramarathon and the marathon, and continued on Sunday with the half marathon, the cross and Fugut, the short track for beginners, alongside a kids’ race for the youngest. Many starts, two days, one mountain, and a crew that had to be in the right place for each of them.
The tracks
Ultramarathon
Saturday · about 54 km
Marathon
Saturday · about 39.5 km
Half marathon
Sunday · about 22 km
Cross
Sunday · about 12.7 km
Fugut
Sunday · 4 km, the track for beginners
Kids’ race
For the youngest runners
From application to assignment, with no guessing
The volunteers applied on bibde, went through the selection process and, once selected, were assigned to positions according to their wishes and their skills. Someone who had asked for the finish line and was good with people ended up at the finish line; someone who preferred a quiet spot on the mountain got one.
The assignment was easy enough that the coordinator knew, at every moment, where the recruiting stood: who had applied, who was selected, which positions were still empty. And once a zone had all the volunteers it needed, recruitment for it stopped automatically — nobody had to take down a form, turn people away or keep a count in their head.
How it worked
1 · Apply
Every volunteer applied on bibde.
2 · Select
The coordinator went through the applications.
3 · Assign
Positions matched wishes and skills.
4 · Prepare
Guides and training came through the platform.
5 · Race days
Every checkpoint reported when it was ready.
Everyone knew their job and their colleagues
Each volunteer received the guide and the training for their own position through the platform. Nobody had to read a manual written for everyone to find their own line: they knew what they were supposed to do, and who they would be doing it with.
That is a small thing to write and a large thing to feel on the mountain. A volunteer who arrives at a checkpoint already knowing the job, and already knowing the people beside them, starts helping runners in the first minute instead of the first hour.
On race days, the coordinator knew
On both days the coordinator knew when the checkpoints were ready. Instead of wondering whether a remote point was staffed and set up, the answer was already there, checkpoint by checkpoint, and the attention could go where it was needed: the race itself.
The result
There were no problems with the volunteers, on either day. The competition was an absolute success and the biggest Urme pe Play so far, both in the number of runners and in the number of volunteers.
The volunteers’ feedback was excellent. The only downside they named was that they would like a mobile app.
For the first time I did not have to carry the volunteers in my head. I knew where the recruiting stood, every volunteer knew their job, and on the race days I knew when each checkpoint was ready. It was the calmest volunteer side we have ever had at Urme pe Play.
The mobile app is in the making
The volunteers asked for it, and we agree. A mobile app for volunteers is being built; today bibde runs in the browser.
Full disclosure
The volunteers of Urme pe Play were coordinated by Mircea, who is also a co-founder of bibde. The platform grew out of exactly this kind of work, which is why we can tell you what worked.
The bibde team
The platform behind the volunteers
bibde is the platform Clubul Montan Sibiu used to recruit, assign and brief the volunteers of Urme pe Play 2026.
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