Buck Hales

Something miraculous happens when runners finish a race. Their results are tabulated and reported to them. If the results are incorrect, or if runners have to wait too long time, they complain bitterly. If the results are delivered to them accurately and in a timely manner, well, that’s what they expect. How are results tabulated and why could there possibly be mistakes or problems? Let us take just a moment to consider. Problems start early. It could be a flaw in the design of the entry form, perhaps crucial information is requested but it is in an obscure portion of the entry form, or sometimes information needed to tabulate results is omitted (like age or sex, for example). Usually this is not the case. Usually the problem starts with how the runner filled out the entry form. They will do so hastily, neglect to include their date of birth, their zip code, their age or sex, and fill out the entry form illegibly. When it comes time to compute the results, the people doing the scoring rely on accurate data, if the age, sex or name of the participant can’t be discerned from their entry form, and thus was not properly entered into the data base, there is no way of properly assigning results to that individual. Given perfect entrant information, there are still problems that can arise in doing the timing. The two biggest sources of error come from bandits, unregistered runners who cross the finish lines, and from registered runners who change chutes or change places in the finish chutes.

Almost all races these days utilize the "pull tag" system for scoring races. Order of finish is determined by pull tag and times are collected separately by an electronic timing device. As each finisher crosses the line their time is recordered by a click on the timer—their time, but not their number. The timer is blind to the number. They will click each runner as they cross the line regardless if they are wearing a bib number or what that number is. The identity of the runner is determined from their pull tag. These are collected in the order in which the runners finish and collected on spindles. The time of finish and finisher are determined by combining the pull tag data from the spindles with the time data from the timing device’s memory. This is done at a separate computer that stores the runner’s entry form data. The pull tag data is entered into the computer by reading the bar-codes, or manually entering the numbers. These go into the computer in the order they were collected at the finish line. The first pull tag on spindle one is from the overall winner. The last one on the last spindle is from the last person to finish the race. Ideally, all of the pull tags on the spindles are in the order of finish. The pull tag data are collected while the race is in progress. The times of the finishers are transmitted to the computer either by downloading them from the timing device’s memory after the race is over, or by transmitting them as they are collected if the timing device is connected, or linked to, the computer. The race scoring program combines the order of finish data from the pull tags with the times and assigns a time to each finisher. The timing device has an additional function, to collect "select times". Select times are entered via the timing device’s key pad and the bib number and time of select finishers are recorded. The job of the person doing the select times is to collect only as many times and numbers as can be done accurately. The select time data is transmitted or downloaded to the computer with the rest of the times. After the program has combined the times with the finish order it uses the select times to correct the data. Often runners will finish in groups and three or four will cross the line simultaneously. The timer will try to click once for each finisher but can’t always get them all, or may add a few extra clicks. And if some of those finishers are bandits, their time will be recorded, but no corresponding pull tag data will be collected. "Good" bandits are those who run the race but don’t cross the line. "OK" bandits cross the line, but stay in order. The finish line personnel will insert a bandit tag so the computer can tell which of the clicked times corresponded to the bandit. A "bad" bandit is one who crosses the finish line but exits the chutes before a bandit tag can be inserted. The computer program can correct for these discrepancies using the select time data. While the finishers are milling around the finish line area, getting their refreshments, relaxing, stretching, enjoying the post-race buzz, the people doing the results are engaged in a frantic effort to complete the results. By collecting times during the race, and entering the pull tag data frequently, correcting the overall data should be completed in a matter of minutes after the last runner crosses the line. As a backup, and to insure the accuracy of the results, manual hand written select times are also collected at the finish line and used for comparison Some standard of accuracy is agreed upon and if the results match the select times with no greater error (± 2 seconds, for example), then the award winners are selected. A separate function of the results program is to select the overall winners, exclude them from age group results, then select top age group finishers from each group. Clydesdale results are computed by a similar approach, overall winners are excluded, and Clydesdales are sorted according to age and weight, and the top finishers from each group are selected. In races with Clydesdale groups, the Clydesdale participants are usually excluded from the age group results. The computer does this too. Then the results for the awards ceremony are printed. By now the raffle prizes have been given away and the runners are getting restless, the printouts for the awards ceremony are finally delivered.

It seems that what ever can go wrong in doing the results will. Finish line personnel who handle the spindles can sometimes drop them, forget to hand them over in the order they were collected, gather pull tags by the hand full and spindle them out of order etc. The person at the results computer has to analyze the data, compare the order of finish and times to the select times to try to determine where the results got out of order and then manipulate the data to make some sense of the data. It is an error prone process. A popular way to deliver results is to compute them and print them out while the race is going on. Certainly it is attractive to runners to get such immediate gratification, but they must be forgiving of inaccuracies in such instant results. It is difficult to correct for bandits, out of order finishers, and errors in spindle collection when computing the results before the event has finished. Your rank order out of total finishers can’t be calculated until all of the runners have finished the race either. It is exciting to get results on the fly, but finishers should accept that results thus generated are necessarily "unofficial".

Runners can help insure the accuracy and speed of results calculations by following these simple guidelines. Submit your fully completed entry form printed as neatly as possible and register for the race early. Race day entry is the greatest source of error. Check your pull tag for correct information. If you want your results by mail, include your complete address. When you finish the race, stay in order in your chute. Wear your number on your front to enable select times to be collected. Remove your pull tag without tearing it and hand it to the spindle person. And relax while the results are computed. Your race is now finished, the results crew race has just begun.