Participant Handbook
Follow the Coast is a long journey carried forward by many people.
Each participant runs a single stage.
Together, those stages slowly trace the coastline of Europe.
You are not joining an event.
You are continuing something already in motion.
Follow the Coast is:
Every runner inherits the route from someone else and passes it forward.
The project moves slowly.
That is intentional.
A stage is approximately 100 km.
You may run:
Each format carries equal value.
The only requirement is that the stage continues.
Your responsibility is simple:
arrive prepared, complete your section, and hand the journey onward.
You will receive:
Your route between these points is yours to design.
Planning is part of participation.
The coastline decides the experience more than any organiser ever could.
Follow the Coast is not a race.
There are no rankings.
No podium.
No time pressure beyond continuity.
Some moments will feel effortless.
Others will not.
Both belong equally to the project.
Run honestly.
Respect the landscape.
Respect the next runner waiting for you.
Where access allows, the Follow the Coast crew accompanies the stage.
They provide:
Bring what you personally need to move safely and comfortably.
Regular live updates about your run are posted on our socials.
The guiding principle is simple:
stay as close to the sea as realistically possible.
This sometimes means:
The coastline is never perfectly logical.
That is part of its character.
Each stage connects directly to the next.
Standard start time: 07:00
Stages must finish before midnight.
Your finish coordinate becomes the next runner's start.
The journey continues from the exact point you leave it.
This precision keeps the project alive.
At the end of your stage:
No gaps.
No approximations.
The continuity between coordinates is the heart of Follow the Coast.
A professional photographer documents your stage.
The images become part of:
After your stage, you receive access to a curated image selection.
Some photographs will later be released as limited edition prints chosen by the photographer.
If a selected image was made during your stage, you will receive the opportunity to purchase it before public release.
With your registration, you give explicit consent for your image to be used in the books and on the online channels of FTC.
Every stage eventually lives inside a Follow the Coast book.
The books are not souvenirs.
They are the lasting record of the journey.
Your footsteps become part of that archive.
One copy of the relevant publication is included with your participation.
Participation requires commitment.
The project depends on reliability between participants.
If circumstances change:
Participation fees are therefore non-refundable.
This protects continuity for everyone involved.
Follow the Coast provides coordination, not supervision.
Each participant remains responsible for:
Run within your abilities.
Prepare seriously.
You will meet people you have never met before.
Some will run before you.
Others will follow after.
Most connections happen briefly:
at dawn,
at handovers,
on tired legs beside the sea.
These moments are enough.
The project continues without pause.
Your stage becomes one link in a chain that will take years to complete.
You remain part of Follow the Coast long after finishing.
Many runners return.
Not to repeat a stage,
but to stay connected to the journey.
Leave the coastline ready for the next person.
