All of the Triple Crown of Running races, plus several others in the Pikes Peak Region will be chip timed this year.

Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc., and the Pikes Peak Road Runners made some big news this week, announcing that they will share the expenses on a new chip timing system.

In 2012, all of the Triple Crown Races, including the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run, The Summer Roundup Trail Run, the Pikes Peak Ascent and Pikes Peak Marathon, plus several other area races will be chip timed. Read the official press release here. Or, just check out what all the key players had to say below.

Dave Sorenson, Pikes Peak Road Runners timing chief
How long have you been doing the race results for PPRR and how long with the current system?
I started helping Bill Bennett with race results in the late 90s.  In the early 2000s, Bill wanted to get away from being the main results guy, so I took over that role.  The current system has been used all during that time.  Bill Bennett wrote the current software in the early 90s, and he and Bill Gallegos developed the overall finish line procedures for collecting the data at the finish line, which are still in use today.

Seems like a chip system has been a long-time coming, are you happy with the decision to buy it and why?

I'm happy and nervous at the same time.  Once we get our feet wet, the stress of race day activities regarding results should be reduced.  But in the meantime, there is a lot of new stuff to learn, and as we go through the learning process, we'll probably fall flat on our faces a few times.  But the key is to always get back up and move on, even if you have a bloodied face.

How will the new system change things for the runners?

The biggest thing is that runners will be able to get a net time rather than a gun time.  So they'll know how long it took them to get from the start line to the finish line.  They'll no longer be penalized for the time it takes to reach the start line after the gun has sounded.  The finish line will also be cleaner and more appealing, as the chutes won't be necessary, thus the runners won't have stay in line until volunteers collect their pulltag.  The runners can simply finish and immediately start their recovery.

You have spent countless hours working on producing race results, how will the new system change your life?

My life probably won't change too much.  I'll just be one person in a large team of volunteers getting things done.  In the short term, probably a year or so, it will increase the amount of work for all of us as we learn the new system.  We'll have to augment the Race Director software to add some things in the result listings that Race Director doesn't provide, such as the detection of new course records, adding hyperlinks to runner's names to look up their results in the Finish Line Index, and other things of that nature.  That effort has already started.  After we get through a year's worth of races and learn the best practices of doing things for the unique aspects of each race, we'll know what to expect.  There will still be the pre-race work of entering registrations, trying to read bad hand writing, and overall management of the registration data, including handling race day registrations.  That work is constant no matter what type of timing system is being used.  But after a race starts, the hope is that we can configure the hardware and software to work on auto-pilot, so the results crew is just checking if all the systems are working ok.  The plan is also to train more volunteers to be knowledgeable with both the hardware and software operation of the results effort, thus we can spread out the work load.

John Garner, Pikes Peak Road Runners (researched available systems)
How much time did you spend researching the systems that were out there?

From start to finish it took about six weeks. We first talked to several of the race directors for their requirements. We then reviewed the offerings from several of the current vendors on the market today.

After reducing the selection down to a few top contenders, we contacted the vendors for quotes to determine what a system that could time an event like the Garden of the Gods or Pikes Peak Marathon would cost.

The financial review went beyond the acquisition cost and also looked at things like the per-runner cost for the chips going forward. We didn't want a system that cost nothing to acquire but then hit us with a $5 per runner fee for the chips going forward.

Which one did you decide to go with and why?

We chose the Ultra system by RFID Race Timing Systems out of Australia. Like many of the newer systems out there today, this system uses disposable chips that are stuck to the back of the runners bib. Unlike the other vendors on the market that require you to purchase the chips from them, the Ultra system allows us to use any "gen 2" compliant RFID chip. This significantly reduces the cost of the individual timing chips, thus allowing us to keep the cost low for the runners going forward.

How will runners benefit from this new system?

The big benefit will be able to get a "chip" time that does not start the timing clock for them until they cross the start line. Runners no longer have to cram into the front of the field if they are trying to get a PR or earn qualifying time for the Pikes Peak Ascent or Boston.

Chip timing also gives us the ability to place timing mats out on the course to record split times at select locations. If a network connection is available from that location we could then provide status updates to friends and family back home while the runners are still out on the course.

Mike Shafai, Pikes Peak Road Runners President
When do you hope to debut the new timing system?

The plan is to debut it at the Garden of the Gods 10-miler.  We should have the system in our hands ready to test by April, and have already ordered chips for several upcoming races.  In addition, we have been successfully testing the new software and producing results, using the last two Winter Series races as testing venues.  Dave Sorenson has been instrumental in making software modifications to accommodate the new system.  We're very fortunate to have someone like him, who not only has the knowledge to anticipate the needs of the running community, but truly cares about the product being delivered.  

What convinced Road Runners to take this big step? 

The club looked at chip timing in ernest back in 2007 and 2008, and ultimately determined that the cost, combined with the lack of functionality at the time, it ultimately wouldn't benefit the running community.  John and Bethany Garner re-opened the books, reviewing the prior board's research and conducting a significant amount of additional research.  When we looked at it from a pure cost-benefit analysis, this time around it made sense.  With Dave Sorenson's blessing of the software solution, and Pikes Peak Marathon's commitment to partner, the answer was obvious.  Our board voted unanimously to move forward.  Not much convincing was necessary, as the facts were presented in a clear, direct manner.

Road Runners has been successfully timing races with the current system for a long time. What are the advantages to having chip timing?

There are advantages and disadvantages to everything.  From a runner's perspective (and runner's friends and family), the advantages are huge.  Split times, knowing where a runner is on the course, safety of the runner, and the ability to come into the finish without having to get a tag pulled, are all obvious advantages.

From the club's vantage point, this will somewhat reduce the number of volunteers we need at the finish line, and should help to reduce timing mix-ups.  Again, Dave Sorenson and our results crew are truly masters at solving these problems, but it should reduce volunteer time.  This is not to say that chip-timed events are perfect.  I myself was "victim" of a chip timing system gone awry.  At the Leadville Trail 100, a "runner" attempted to clip me at the tape.  He fell just before the finish line right as I crossed.  Somehow, the system put him in front of me.  A friend of mine saw the video taken by my pacer and sent the link to the results people, who ended up correcting the results.  John Garner has built in two layers of redundancy to ensure that runners' times and positions are recorded accurately: select timing (we currently use this) as well as G0Pro video cameras at finish lines.
As far as disadvantages, there's the additional cost factor to consider.  Not only is there a huge up-front capital expense, but there is a cost for each individual chip.  PPRR is committed to keeping race entry fees reasonable and below market.  Take the Winter Series for example.  John Gardner and I do four races for $50.  Runners may not realize the cost associated with this, but considering the cost of insurance, supplies, portalets, parking at the state park ($7/vehicle), shirts, pint glasses, city and county park fees, extra duty sheriffs officers, it's not cheap to put on race.  Our goal is simply to break even, and with expenses going up, it just makes it a tad more challenging.  Ultimately, we want to deliver value to the running community, and with chip timing, we feel we can pull off a net positive for the running community from a cost/benefit standpoint.

With the new system, will Road Runners attempt to time more races?

That remains to be seen, but because PPRR is committed to supporting the running community, we will certainly entertain requests for assistance.  We will be working on revising our pricing model in the coming months.  But there's no rush on this since our calendar is already closed to new events for 2012.  As an all-volunteer organization, our board is mindful that any additional commitments can put a strain on our volunteers.  We need to ensure we're not burning them out, and at the same time, we're working to bring new volunteers into the mix.  We are committed to spreading the knowledge on how to time races among a larger base of volunteers.

Can you tell me how much the system costs?

We only have estimates on this right now, as additional hardware purchases will be made as we move forward.  For what we're looking to do, the fixed capital cost is in excess of $40,000, shared between us and PPM, Inc.  There are variable expenses associated with the system as well, including the cost for each chip, which today is around 35 cents.  For some races, we will likely include two chips on each bib, which doubles the cost.  Keep in mind, not all the chips may be used for a race (or more important, be covered by an entry fee).  So, with each race, there's some risk of loss, especially for races that experience high variability in participation rates, based on weather or other factors.

The Rescue Run and the Winter Series races come to mind.  Other ongoing costs include insurance, maintenance, and the shared expense between PPRR and PPM, Inc. to fund a capital replacement fund, which will be used to replace equipment down the road.  While the upfront expense seems large, when we examine the number of runners we see coming through the combined finish lines of our races and the Triple Crown races, the financial cost to the runner will be negligible, and most importantly, will be more than offset by the benefits.

Ron Ilgen, President, Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc.

What prompted Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc., to join the Road Runners in purchasing this system?

This is a win, win, win for the runner, the Road Runners and the Triple Crown. And it continues a long-term relationship between the Road Runners  and Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc., so it really is a perfect fit.

How will chip timing benefit the Pikes Peak races?

It’s important for us, especially in bad weather, to know where our runners are on the mountain. This new system will help us with that.