One marathon brought 55k users: TRACX, a Dutch race-app platform, grew because organizers ship the app for it

TRACX is a small Dutch company's race-app platform: marathon, hiking and triathlon organizers hire it to build an app under their own brand, and runners' friends and family use it to see where the runner is. tracx.events's global ranking climbed from 580k to 260k in a month. It looks like a new product breaking out, but it's a five-year-old business that hit peak autumn marathon season and signed several big races. It spends almost nothing acquiring users directly; every organizer promotes the app for it. Below: what it is, where users come from, where the money comes from, who the competitors are, and what part you can take away.

Frankfurt, 20 seconds before the finish line

2026 Oct 25, a Sunday, the 43th Frankfurt Marathon, with about 22k entrants. That year the course had a timing mat every kilometer, 45 timing points in total; TRACX's website says it was the first marathon in the world to do this. A typical marathon times runners every 5 km, so apps have to estimate where runners are in between. This time the app got official data every kilometer, so when runners sped up or faded, spectators saw it on their phones almost immediately.

The most-followed athlete in the app that day was German runner Amanal Petros, with 2,200 people watching him on their phones. He finished in 2:05:46, just 20 seconds behind Ethiopian winner Jirata Dinki, and those 2,200 people followed the whole chase in the app. During the race, the Frankfurt Marathon app had over 55k users and was opened 1.1M times (TRACX website race report, 2026-10).

The app's Google Play package name is still de.mikatiming.frankfurtmarathon, left over from the previous vendor, timing company mika:timing. TRACX signed Frankfurt this year and took over the app along with its original 66k installs. In the days before the race, daily installs rose by more than 8,000 times, and it ranked #7 on the German Google Play overall free chart, 10-29.

What it actually is

Behind TRACX is Sportunity B.V. of Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. What it sells to race organizers is a complete package:

• White-label apps: each race gets its own app, listed under the event's name and brand. For an extra fee, the TRACX and Sportunity logos can be removed entirely.
• Live tracking: connects to timing companies' data (MYLAPS, Race Result, ChronoTrack, etc.) so spectators can see where runners are and estimated finish times.
• Cheers, finish selfies, results: cheer messages from spectators can be pushed to runners; the Sydney Marathon even put cheer messages on the live TV broadcast.
• Sponsor slots: a new "opening video" was added this year, so the first thing you see on opening the app is a sponsor (for the Frankfurt race, T. Rowe Price).
• An aggregator app, "TRACX": all connected races can be found inside it. Installs 113k (Google Play, 11-07).

The website tracx.events is the page spectators land on through the tracking link they receive, with an entry point prompting them to download the app. The app's API also runs under this domain. So the domain's ranking mostly reflects how many people used the app on race day, not how many browsed the website.

Why now: the ranking follows the race calendar

Put tracx.events's global ranking next to the races it serves and the match is exact:

Ranking data from Tranco's daily list. The two biggest jumps came on the 18 and 25 October race weekends. Over the 90-day window it rose 1.7 times, but at the end of July it was already at 427k, so it didn't start from zero. Chrome real-user data shows the same curve: the Dutch site broke into the top 10k in July (the month of the four-day walk), and the Mexican site entered the top 50k in August (Mexico City Marathon).

Beyond peak season, this was the year it signed big clients. Its website published a race report for each major event, with these numbers:

One big race means tens of thousands to over two hundred thousand users. With several races clustered in late October, the ranking got pushed up. Also, the Hague Marathon app was only listed on Sep 17, and from Nov 3 to 7 it stayed at #1 on the Dutch Google Play free sports chart.

Where users come from: organizers push it

TRACX itself barely acquires users. I found no sign of it running ads aimed at runners, and there was not a single X post about it in 90 days. Its users arrive like this:

1. Organizers push it. Registration confirmation emails, pre-race instructions and bib pickup all tell participants to "download the official app." The Nijmegen four-day walk's website app page states the app "is part of the TRACX platform, developed by Sportunity." Runners then share the tracking link with family and friends, who open the web page and are prompted to install the app. For the Amsterdam race, over 30k runners had linked their bib to their account before the race.
2. Taking over old apps. When a new client signs, it inherits their existing store listing and install base. The Frankfurt app is mika:timing's old package; the Valencia (85k installs) and Kuala Lumpur Marathon (58k) packages both use nl.meetmijntijd.*, taken over from MYLAPS earlier. No need to build installs from zero.
3. Taking over from the timing leader. TRACX's predecessor was MYLAPS's EventApp, from MYLAPS, the world's largest race timing company. MYLAPS handed the development and marketing of this business entirely to Sportunity; the announcement on its website said the first year was projected at about 600 events and 3M athletes and spectators. TRACX's main app was first listed in August 2021, and the handover likely happened around then (inference).
4. Every race gets a recap. User count, opens, cheer-message count, plus the race result, published on the official site and sometimes picked up by Running USA. These aren't for runners. They're sales material for the next organizer.

Homepage totals: 1,686 events, 10M athletes.

Where the money comes from

The money comes from organizers. The site has only an inquiry form, no public pricing. The form lists a long string of add-ons: live tracking, race data infographics, custom data collection, finisher selfies, on-site support, marketing packs (basic / plus), pre-race simulation tests, and "EventApp pro (Sportunity and TRACX logos removed)". The most valuable pitch is sponsor placement: a race with 175k active users and 11M page views, where in-app exposure can be sold separately to title sponsors.

There's also a small user-side revenue line: a paid TRACX+ tier that sells things like post-race recap videos. The Frankfurt app once hit #39 on Germany's Top Grossing chart, likely from this (inferred), though the scale is unclear. Revenue is not public.

Who it's competing with

This category isn't new. Plenty of players have been at it for a decade:

TRACX won Frankfurt and Amsterdam because organizers wanted their own branded app, plus exposure they can sell to sponsors. It doesn't care which timing system is used, so timing companies can keep timing and partner with it. This ranking climb is mainly peak season plus new clients, not a new product.

Few people know about it. Beyond a few Running USA industry pieces and its own recap posts, no media, VC circles or X accounts discuss it. I also see no new copycats; a few veteran players have already divided this category.

If it were you

C. A good playbook to learn from, but cloning TRACX isn't worth it. The barrier in this business isn't technology. It's two things followers can't get quickly: data integration with timing companies, and years of sales relationships with organizers. TRACX itself started by taking over hundreds of races from MYLAPS. In Europe and the US, big races are already split among it, RTRT.me, and timing companies' own apps.

Who it suits: people already connected to an event industry, such as those who've run race operations, know timing companies or registration platforms well, or built systems for trade shows or schools. You need to tolerate a B2B2B rhythm: a deal can take months, and revenue follows the seasons.

Who it doesn't suit: indie devs hoping for organic store traffic or short-video growth. Here users only come through organizers, and you can't pull them in yourself. Also skip anyone planning a "better tracking app" sold straight to runners. Runners won't pay for tracking. Organizers and sponsors do.

How to do it: don't copy marathons, copy the structure. Find a scenario where the organizer must give participants a tool, and let them promote it for you. Candidates are where TRACX isn't: niche events with timing but no decent app, such as trail runs, cycling, dragon boat, or hiking festivals. Or local markets that big companies don't cover, in Asia or Latin America. Or non-race scenarios like trade shows, large concerts, or school sports days. Start with a minimal kit: bib-number binding, live position or results, a shareable web page for spectators, and one sponsor slot. Make the share page excellent, because spectators' first contact will be through that link.

How to get customers: first client free or discounted, in exchange for a public data recap (how many people used it, how many opens, how many times sponsors were seen). Use that to pitch the next organizer. Partner with local timing companies or registration platforms, since they hold the full race lists. If a new client already has an app, take over its store listing and install base instead of starting from scratch.

When to move: big races usually pick vendors six to twelve months ahead (inferred). To hit the 2027 autumn season, lock in your first clients before 2027 spring. Use the 2026 December to 2027 February low season to build the product and your first case study.

What would mean you read it wrong: ① next year's March to May low season, tracx.events' rank drops back to 600k–900k, and autumn 2027 doesn't beat this year. That would mean it's just feeding off existing clients, the category isn't growing much, and it's not worth entering. ② Conversely, if RTRT.me or TRACX keeps signing local races in Asia and Latin America, big players are moving into those markets and the local gap for small teams is closing. ③ If Strava or Garmin starts directly taking race timing data and opening back ends to organizers, the whole white-label race app business gets price pressure.

One line for anyone building products: the cheapest users are the ones someone else is obligated to send you. Find the person who must hand participants a tool, make the tool their brand, and the users come on their own.