CHIP & NUMBER TIMING

There is no possibility of chips becoming detached or lost during the race. If the competitor doesn’t have a number they certainly don’t have a chip!

We also believe that the Chip ‘n’ Number system best replicates the rules of athletics as it’s the runners torso that is timed as it crosses the line rather than their foot or even arm! (see right picture)

At the finish there is a backup system which consists of number officials with hand held scanners. These devices scan the timing chips of each finisher and if, for any reason, a timing chip has not been detected by the main antenna it is added to the detection list and assigned a time between its immediate neighbours. This enables 100% detections of all finishers. (see right picture)

 All of this adds up to allow initial race results to be produced whilst competitors are still finishing! The prize presentation report and team results reports can be produced at the same time. This means that results can be displayed quickly and that the prize presentation can be conducted at the earliest or published time.

Gun Time / Chip Time Defined

Chip on back of number

Hand Held Scanners  looks like a
table tennis bats

Question:- Why can't I run with my mp3 player?
The reason that we set restrictions on the use of mp3 players etc., is due to our concerns for safety on this 2 lap course. Runners will be using both directions on half of the road width, which is narrow in several places. Leading runners are lead by cyclists, who will be warning runners as they approach them from behind that they need to move over to allow overtaking and also allow enough space for runners to also pass them going in the opposite direction. It is vital in these circumstances that marshals instructions can be clearly heard.

IMPORTANT RACE INFORMATION
CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT RACE INSTRUCTIONS

This year we will be using Electronic Race Timing via a chip in your race number to record your race result. It’s literally a disposable Chip ‘n’ Number all in one!

At many races we are asked to produce two times. The first is what is called the Gun Time. It's the official race time and is the time that the runner takes to complete the course from the time the gun was fired. Of course if you take say thirty seconds to cross the line this additional time is part of your race time.

We can also produce a Chip Time (or Chip to Chip Time as it’s sometimes referred to). This is the time that the runner actually takes from the time they crossed the start line (even if they took thirty seconds to do so from when the gun was fired) to the time they crossed the finish line. However, this time has no relevance to the results whatsoever and is used for information purposes only.

As far as the rules of athletics are concerned the Gun Time is the important time, and this is what the results and prizes are based on, otherwise the race becomes a time trail where the winner need not be the first person to cross the finish line.