Event Communications lets organizers write and send event updates by email from RUFUS Cloud. Use it for revised start times, course changes, parking instructions and other information participants need before or after an event.
Availability: beta, with access approved for your organization. Open your event's Communications tab to request access. Race Check-In access does not automatically enable Communications.
Before you start
- Have a published event and an up-to-date participant roster in RUFUS Race Manager (RRM).
- Synchronize participant and contact changes before preparing your audience.
- Use an account with permission to edit the event; read-only accounts cannot create or send emails.
- Check that your organization has Communications access and enough email credits.
1. Create an email
Open the event in RUFUS Cloud, select Communications and choose New email. Give the draft an internal name, such as “15K course update”. Only organizers see this name; participants see the subject you write in the email content.
2. Choose the recipients
Choose all races or select one or more races. For a change affecting only the 15K, select that race. Search the audience by name, bib or email and clear Include for any individual who should not receive this message.
RRM participants are the main audience. Confirmed Cloud registrations awaiting RRM sync are also included. When the same participant exists in both sources, RUFUS uses the RRM record and avoids a duplicate recipient. Registrations awaiting confirmation are not included.
Review the audience counts, email addresses and exclusions. Missing, invalid or blocked addresses are not eligible to receive the message. Refresh audience after changing participant data, and check the evaluation time shown in the workspace.
Two participants sharing an email address remain separate recipients. Each receives their own personalized email and uses one email credit.
3. Write and personalize the message
- Choose the email language and write the subject. You can also add optional inbox preview text.
- Write the message using bold text, bulleted lists and links. The preview shows the formatting.
- Insert participant fields where useful: first_name, last_name, full_name, bib, race or event_name. Use the field chips to insert the correct placeholders.
- Set Reply-to email to the organizer address that should receive replies. The sending address remains the RUFUS sender displayed in the workspace.
- Optionally add a button label and URL, such as “View the updated course”. Provide both fields or leave both empty.
- Choose whether to show the participant's bib and race in the email.
The email uses your event's branding. Select a participant in the audience table to check their personalized preview, and use the Desktop and Mobile views to review the layout.
4. Save and send a test
Save draft before reviewing the send. Use Send test · 1 credit to send a test to the email address of the signed-in organizer, shown in the workspace. Check the subject, wording, personalization, links and mobile layout.
A test uses one email credit and does not send the campaign to participants. You can return to a saved draft later.
5. Review and send
Choose Review and send. Check the final preview, sender, reply-to address, eligible recipient count and required credits. Confirm with Send [count] emails when everything is correct.
Review freezes the saved content and recipient list for 15 minutes. Later registrations and roster edits do not change that send. To include new changes, return to the draft and prepare a fresh review. If the review expires, review again before sending.
RUFUS reserves one email credit for each eligible participant. A credit is consumed when the email provider accepts that participant's email for sending. Definitely unsent, skipped or cancelled emails have their reserved credits refunded. An email that was accepted and later bounces still consumes its credit.
6. Follow delivery and manage follow-up emails
Open the communication to view Delivery history. Search by name, bib or email, filter by status and use Refresh to retrieve current results. The history also shows consumed and refunded credits. “Submitted” means the provider accepted the email; it does not confirm that the participant has received or read it.
While a campaign is queued or sending, Stop remaining sends skips the unsent remainder and refunds those credits. Emails already submitted cannot be recalled.
Use Duplicate as draft to reuse a previous email for a follow-up. Check the copied content, race selection and individual exclusions, then refresh and review the audience before sending.
Example messages
These examples are starting points. Replace the times, locations and links with confirmed information for your event before sending.
Rain delay
Audience: all affected races.
Subject: Start-time update for {{event_name}}
Message: Today's start has moved to 10:30 because of heavy rain. Please follow the on-site team's instructions and check the event information page for our next update at 10:00.
Optional button: View event updates — link to your event information page.
15K course change
Audience: the 15K race only.
Subject: Updated course for the 15K
Message: We have updated the 15K course. Please review the revised map before race day. The start time and start area are unchanged.
Optional button: View the updated course — link to the revised map.
Common questions
How is Communications different from Notifications and Race Check-In emails?
Communications is for organizer-written participant emails that you review and send manually. Notifications handles automated messages triggered by race activity. Check-In and Pre-check invitations, private participant links and related targeting remain in Race Check-In.
Why is someone missing from the audience?
Check the selected races, individual exclusions and current RRM data. A Cloud registration must be confirmed to be included while awaiting sync. Review missing, invalid and blocked address counts. Offline changes appear only after synchronization; refresh the audience afterwards.
Why does a shared address appear more than once?
The audience is organized by participant, not by unique email address. Family members can share one address and still receive separate personalized messages. Each eligible participant counts as one email and one credit.
Why can't I review or send?
Save any pending changes and provide an internal name, subject and message. Check that the audience has eligible recipients, the review is still valid, and enough credits are available. If you add a button, supply both its label and a valid URL. Read-only accounts cannot send.
What does “Needs attention” or an unknown outcome mean?
An interrupted submission may leave RUFUS unable to confirm whether the email provider accepted it. The credit remains reserved while delivery feedback is reconciled, and the email is not automatically resent. Review the history and contact RUFUS Support if it remains unresolved. Avoid sending a duplicate just because the outcome is unknown.
Can I schedule emails or send SMS here?
This version supports manual email sends. Scheduling, SMS and automatic campaigns are not available in Communications.
What if Communications is unavailable?
If Request beta access is shown, submit the request from the Communications tab. If access has already been approved but the tab still says Communications is not available yet, contact RUFUS Support.