Welcome to the board fishnjohn.

In a kickboat/float tube tournament running means you can drive to another location on the lake to put in then fish there, and transport your fish back to the weigh in location via your vehicle. This is primarily done on big water like Clear Lake and only with a special permit issued by the DFG. Everyone who enters a "running" tourney (one with a permit) has the choice to run to another location or to put in at the host location and fish there. There are special livewell regulations that must be adhered to as a condition of the permit to ensure the well being of the fish if you run.

Running in a tube tourney is very much like a boat tourney where you can run to any location and then bring your fish back to the weigh in location.
It helps to spread the anglers out too when there is a large field. If 40 to 60 tubers all launched at one location it gets a little crowded.

In the case of this last weekends tourney my livewell did not meet the permit conditions to transport so rather than modify my livewell I choose not to run and stayed at State Park and paid for it.

Hope this helps!

MT