Technology and the NYC Marathon

As many of you know this Sunday I ran my first marathon. I have run in many New York Road Runners races throughout the past two years and have always been interested in the technology involved in managing these races. But the marathon and its 26.2 miles include significantly more technology then the average Road Runners race. 

Each runner is presented with a chip about the size of a quarter which we have to secure to our shoes. The chip is inactive unless it is stimulated by another type of technology, therefore it only collects data at specific areas on the course. The ChampionChip, made by a Dutch company, is used in almost every premiere marathon and ironman throughout the world. Two sets of mats are placed on the ground so that when participants run over them they can record the exact time a runner was there. The course had these check points set up at every 5k (of which there are 8) and every mile after mile 16. 

Road Runners and other organizations have adopted the ChampionChip technology for several reasons. First of all it deters people from cheating because they are required to pass through every check point before finishing. According to an article in the NY Times a runner in the Boston Marathon and NYC Marathon in the late 70's took the subway in both races and won the race before they were caught. This technology was introduced so that this would be impossible even for non elite runner.  Secondly, the technology makes it easy to be tracked by family and friends interested in your position in the race. My family signed up for "athlete tracker" which instantaneously e-mailed their cell phones when I passed a check point. This made it easy for my parents at the finish line to figure out when I would be finishing and for my other family members following me from burrough to burrough to figure out exactly where I would be when. 

In the article Bits, Bytes and Blisters: Tracking Runners From Start to Finish in the NY Times Road Runners mentioned that the technology is not flawless and that they are looking into GPS technology to provide even more accurate race results and further deter cheating. All in all it was a fantastic race and the technology helped marathoners, organizers and spectators alike.