These are always great events to time at - really friendly! This time saw a change of format which made things much better from a timing and (I think) a competitor point of view. Instead of multiple categories each with a different number of laps, there was a set number of laps for all categories and as soon as the leader of the whole race completed, the flag came down. So I could give accurate lap updates for once! The setup was using Sportiva Events  excellent passive RFID kit. It's shown below. It was made up of two readers (R1 and R2) and five circular polarized antennas (A1, A1-4). Timing software was of course Webscorer. The setup - riders traveled from the foreground of the picture towards the gazebo. Here are the results from the analysis of the reads- The big difference between this and past events? Running a reader with a single antenna. This massively improved read rates on the line. For the manual taps, one was a single pass by a lead rider (not sure why he didn't s

This was a Wild Running event, split over three days. based at Huccaby Farm in Dartmoor, a variety of races took place. I will note now, this post only covers technical aspects such as comms and timing! Aside from a brief discussion about GPX files, all route stuff is up to the race director. GPXs, GPSs and navigation via smartphones Due to various goings on with route markings, the importance of finding your own way was highlighted in this race. Now whilst I'm a firm advocate of using a compass and map, I am also on occasion lazy with my navigation and use my watch.  My watch - a Garmin Instinct - highly recommended! I cannot underestimate the importance of making sure your GPX is correct, whether it is for a training run or a race (in which case, ask the race director). That's before we get into the age old discussion about battery life and the susceptibility of technology to fail when you need it most. Also, for race directors, if you pre-import your GPX into Garmin and Suun

Rather than roll this report into the main Something Wild Festival timing report, I'll do it separately as it corresponds to a separate timing system. My love for Webscorer is well documented in this blog, and just before this race was supposed to take place Webscorer released a new update. This allowed "helper" devices to assist with on screen timing via tablets / laptops / phones. The instructions for setup are here . This race was timed in this way. What is the race? It's a fell race with around 100 participants. It's my favourite type of racing, where runners have to pick the best line they can between points. Normally over vague paths / pathless terrain, they tend to be very friendly, low key events. This one was on Dartmoor. So... timing? Webscorer app timing (no chips here), but split between two tablets (both android). it works, it works really well. The only thing to note is that there is a "send data" button on the bottom of the Webscorer scr