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Case study: free-event registration at scale
From Google Forms to 1,017 registered runners: how Jounieh Run Club runs on Blend
Jounieh Run Club, organized with Fortis Tigris Running Club, filled Run Fest 2026 with over a thousand runners on the Jounieh waterfront. Blend replaced Google Forms and WhatsApp with one free registration flow and a white-label event site, and the club chose not to use check-in at all, just registration and data.
- 1,017 registered runners
- Free, no check-in used
- White-label site
Published and last updated
- Registration & dataBlend
- Organized byJounieh Run Club & Fortis Tigris Running Club
Run Fest 2026 in photos
Jounieh Run Club at a glance
Jounieh Run Club is a community run club representing Jounieh, Lebanon, a separate organizer and club from Run Club Beirut, with the same kind of initiatives and goals. Its second edition on Blend, Run Fest 2026: The Coast Comes Alive, was organized together with Fortis Tigris Running Club.
Blend (blendapp.ai), an event ticketing and registration platform for organizers in Lebanon and the UAE, handled free registration at 1,000+ scale, a white-label event site, and promo codes used as invitations, turning a free 5 km run into 1,017 confirmed, known registrations, with no check-in step at all.
- Jounieh Run Club is a community run club representing Jounieh, a separate organizer from Run Club Beirut.
- Run Fest 2026: The Coast Comes Alive, organized with Fortis Tigris Running Club, ran Sunday 30 August 2026 on the Jounieh waterfront.
- 1,017 people registered and were confirmed on Blend for a free, 5 km community run, against a 2,000-person capacity.
- The club chose not to use check-in at all: registration and data collection were the only features it needed.
- Before Blend, registration ran through Google Forms and WhatsApp, and the club did not know exactly how many people attended.
| Event | Run Fest 2026: The Coast Comes Alive |
|---|---|
| Organizer | Jounieh Run Club, with Fortis Tigris Running Club |
| Event type | Free 5 km community run and festival |
| Editions on Blend | Two; the first was a normal run, the second was Run Fest 2026 |
| Location | Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh waterfront, Lebanon |
| Date | Sunday 30 August 2026, 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM |
| Registration | Free, required for all participants |
| Numbers | 1,017 confirmed registrations on Blend (brief's working estimate was 1,000+) |
| White-label site | runfest2026.blendapp.ai |
| Main Blend features used | Free registration at scale, white-label site, promo codes as invitations |
What is Jounieh Run Club?
Jounieh Run Club is a community run club representing Jounieh, Lebanon: a separate organizer and club from Run Club Beirut, with the same kind of initiatives and goals, built around getting people out running together.
Its biggest event yet, Run Fest 2026: The Coast Comes Alive, took over the Jounieh waterfront on Sunday 30 August 2026, starting at Fouad Chehab Stadium at sunrise for a free 5 km run, with live music, activations, and partner experiences for runners of every age and pace. It was organized together with Fortis Tigris Running Club.
The problem before Blend: Google Forms, WhatsApp, and no real count
Before Blend, Jounieh Run Club registered runners through Google Forms and WhatsApp, with no single system tying it together. The club did not know exactly how many people attended its events, let alone who they were.
Scaling a free run past a thousand runners needed a registration system that could handle that volume on its own, without turning into a manual, unreliable mess the week of the event.
How Jounieh Run Club runs on Blend
Run Fest 2026 ran its full registration and data collection on Blend, from one branded event site. It is the same event ticketing platform organizers in Lebanon use for everything from networking nights to classic car shows.
Free registration at scale
1,017 free pre-registrations were handled in one flow, with no manual follow-up needed to keep track of who was coming.
A white-label event site
Run Fest 2026 had its own branded site at runfest2026.blendapp.ai, giving the event its own identity instead of living inside a generic listing.
Promo codes as invitations
Codes were issued purely to invite people, a simple way for the club to track exactly who had been personally invited.
A centralized data hub
The club chose not to use check-in at all. The goal was to gather all runner data in one place, and that is what it got, with a complete database and no door process to manage.
Activations on the day
Ice bath recovery, with Physio YourA cold-plunge recovery station let runners cool down right after the finish.
A climbing wallSet up alongside the course for runners and families to enjoy beyond the run itself.
Sponsor and partner boothsNew Balance, Mike Sport, Aquafina and other partners had a visible presence throughout the festival.
The moment that proves it: a complete database with no check-in at all
Run Fest 2026 is proof that a ticketing platform does not have to be used end to end to be worth it: Jounieh Run Club took exactly the parts it needed and still walked away with a full, known runner list.
Edge cases Blend handled
A free event at 1,000+ scaleNo payment involved anywhere in the flow, and still a complete database of every runner who signed up.
Using only part of the platformNo check-in: registration and data only. Blend is modular, so the club took exactly what it needed and nothing it didn't.
Two clubs, two citiesRun Club Beirut and Jounieh Run Club are different organizers, each representing its own city, and both run on Blend.
What running on Blend showed
Run Fest 2026 went from Google Forms and WhatsApp to one registration flow with 1,017 confirmed runners, a number that shows the club's credibility and how much people trust it with what it offers.
1,017confirmed registrations on Blend
2,000capacity on a single free ticket
2ndedition on Blend, first as a full festival
No check-inregistration and data only, by choice
Why this case study matters
Jounieh Run Club shows that a free event can still produce a complete, trustworthy database, and that an organizer does not need every feature a platform offers to get real value from it. 1,017 people registered for a run with nothing to buy and no obligation beyond showing up, and the club now knows every single one of them by name, ready to cater to what those runners actually like for the next edition.
Questions about Jounieh Run Club and its ticketing
Jounieh Run Club is a community run club representing Jounieh, Lebanon, run separately from Run Club Beirut, with similar goals of bringing runners together.
Run Fest 2026: The Coast Comes Alive is organized by Jounieh Run Club together with Fortis Tigris Running Club.
Before Blend, registration ran through Google Forms and WhatsApp, and the club did not know exactly how many people attended its events.
1,017 people registered and were confirmed on Blend for Run Fest 2026, for a free, 5 km community run on the Jounieh waterfront.
No. Jounieh Run Club chose not to use check-in for Run Fest 2026: Blend is modular, so the club used only registration and data collection, and still ended up with a complete database of every runner.
Run Fest 2026 ran on Sunday, 30 August 2026, from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, starting at Fouad Chehab Stadium on the Jounieh waterfront.
Jounieh Run Club issued promo codes purely as invitations, a simple way to track exactly who had been personally invited to the event.
Blend (blendapp.ai) is an event technology platform for organizers in Lebanon, the UAE and the wider GCC. It combines online ticketing, access control with QR door scanning, white-label event websites, and live sales and entry data in one system.
From the waterfront to your event
Take what ran at Run Fest 2026 to your own event
- The scaleHandle 1,000+ free registrations in one flowThe same setup Jounieh Run Club uses: free registration that scales past a thousand sign-ups without turning into a manual mess.See free registration
- The brandGive your event its own branded siteThe same white-label setup behind runfest2026.blendapp.ai, so your event feels like its own thing, not a generic listing.See white-label sites
- The invitesTrack personal invitations with promo codesThe same trick Jounieh Run Club used to know exactly who it had personally invited to the event.See promo codes
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Put your next event
on Blend.
Free registration that scales past a thousand sign-ups, a branded white-label site, and promo codes for your personal invites: the same system that runs Run Fest 2026. Free to start, no card required.