Race Timing/Race Results

Who we are:

• Becky and Alan have scored over 500 events of all types by computer since 1981 and have worked with a few hundred others, and we enjoy it. Both held various positions in the Springfield Road Runners Club, with Alan being President for 2 years.
  
• Alan's a self-employed (since 1989) computer consultant. So, if you need computer advice, ask him!
• Alan also provides support and software updates to companies and clubs that also do timing and race scoring in several different countries and all over the United States.
  
• We play Duplicate Bridge at least once a week, and like to fish, and like to help with races that coincide with either a local Bridge tournament, or a nice place to fish (cast or fly), run and relax for a week.
• We like to run and train with weights on a regular basis.

We do timing and results for:

• Adult/child Triathlons (e.g., swim-bike-run, canoe-bike-run), Duathlons (e.g., run-bike-run), and other multisport events
  (most races ask us to provide 5 splits, 3 splits or, occasionally, just an overall time for each finisher).
  
• Small, medium and large running races.
  
• Relay races.
  
• National, College, High School, Elementary School Cross-country races (sectionals, invitationals, conference, etc.).
  We are usually able to provide the head coach of each team with a complete set of results before they leave for home.
  
• Stair climbs and other events.

• Fast/Accurate: We typically post tentative results during the race, make corrections as needed and do a final list when everyone has finished. We also provide custom lists of award winners for your award ceremony.
  
• Price: We are easy to work with and very reasonably priced. We typically charge a fixed price per entrant, plus mileage and lodging (if needed), for all races except school cross-country meets. For these, we almost always charge a flat rate for the entire meet, plus lodging (if needed).

• Race Information - When/where is the race? What award categories will you use? Your race entry form should collect all of the information needed for determining awards, especially name, gender and birthdate, and it should have a special location (for Office Use Only) where the bib number assigned to a participant can be recorded by registration workers with a label, a pen or some sort of bar code. Our race scoring software can sort finishers based on birthdate, which makes it easy to show the youngest and oldest finisher.
  
• Pre-Race Registration - The finish line begins at registration. By that, we mean that accurate race results depend on accurate registration data. We frequently provide a custom version of ElfScore ( Alan's highly regarded race program) for entering participants prior to race day. It can produce mailing labels and many common reports (lists of entrants in order by name/bib number/team name, labels for packet stuffing and pickup, count of each TShirt size, etc.). It can also import data from files downloaded from online race registration sites such as Active.com, MidwestEvents.com. SignMeUpSports.com, CoolRunning.com, etc. We customize the entry screen to closely match your printed race registration form, so that data entry is faster and more accurate. ElfScore can automatically proper case names and other fields, and it can be set up to restrict the values entered in fields such as Sex, Team Category, Tshirt, etc. If you need a custom report that is not already available, or a change to the list of allowable Tshirt sizes, Alan can usually prepare an update and email it to you within a few hours.
  When you're done with pre-race registration, just email us the database, and we'll take over registration duties from there.
  
• Shelter - A dry, warm, quiet place out of the weather, and as near to the finish as possible. We do not have to be at the finish, as the timing equipment we use is completely battery-powered, but it helps us get results out a little faster if we can run a cable from the primary finish line timer to the computer. (We've used buildings, pavilions, enclosed tents, vans, motor homes and pop-up campers.)
• Power - 110V nearby or a generator with a standard 3-prong outlet. If possible, please test the electrical outlets prior to race day to be sure they are working. Any sound system you employ should be on a separate circuit.
• Tables/Chairs - Two sturdy tables (approx. 2' x 6') and two chairs.
• Volunteers - Enough people to work the finish line and chutes and, if a multisport event with splits, enough people to work at the various transition checkpoints. Typically, we need 4-6 people per transition checkpoint, and 6-10 people per finish line chute. For non-pool swim triathlons, it is common for the volunteers who work the swim portion to be through with their duties before any athlete finishes the run portion (and many volunteers like to help at more than one location - be sure to ask).
• Bar-coded numbers -The bib numbers worn by the athletes must have a tear-off portion at the bottom. To speed up results processing, this tear-off 'tag' should have a '3 of 9' bar code on it, as far away from the hole as possible. It's best to just order numbers with these codes. We highly recommend Rainbow Racing at 1-800-962-1011. If you are using free numbers from Runners World or another race affiliate program, or if you already ordered race numbers without the bar codes, please let us know. We can print bar code labels and mail them to you to stick on the tear-off tag. We do not charge for these labels, and it will greatly enhance the accuracy and speed with which we prepare your race results.
• Transition/Finish Line - Some equipment for setting up transition areas (for multisport events) and/or one or more finish chutes - e.g., orange mesh fencing, orange safety cones, stanchions with ropes, barrels with caution tape, etc.
• Lodging - A place to stay the night before. If the race is fairly local to us (within 2 hours of central Illinois), and the race start time is no earlier than 10am, we can drive over on race morning. We like to be there at least 1.5 - 2 hours prior to the start of most races, so we can set up our equipment, train the timing/finish line volunteers, enter race-day registration, answer questions, and assist with any other parts of the race that need our expertise. Many races are able to arrange for a donated room at a local hotel/motel (we prefer a quiet, non-smoking room with a king or queen bed).
  

• Registration Assistance - If your group is handling pre-race registration, we usually provide a customized version of ElfScore for you, help with questions you have and problems you encounter, and either create custom reports you need (and send via email), or assist your designated registration people with changing existing reports so that they can provide you with the data you want.
• Race Planning Assistance - Since we've worked with hundreds of races over the years, and attended many local, regional and national conferences on event planning conducted by experts, we've seen many examples of effective ways to handle problems common to races, and to teams of people working to put on an event. If you need help with your race, feel free to ask. If we can't provide an answer, we most likely can find someone who will.
  
• Transition/Finish Line Training - We work with your people so that they understand the timing process, and we train them where needed. We usually assume that they're not experienced at timing, or that they haven't worked at it in months. We like to train the volunteers at least one hour prior to the start of the race. For large events, we like to train most of the volunteers the day before the event, and we like to communicate with the person in charge of the finish area so the process is smooth on race day.
• Volunteer Job Descriptions - Well before race day, we provide detailed written descriptions for the different positions we need people for, so each potential recruit will know when they should show up, what they can expect to be doing at the race, and how much of their time it will take.
• Timing Equipment - We bring several fully charged, battery-operated TimeMachine printing timers for recording times and bib numbers electronically. We bring numbered stringers to collect the tear-off bib tags. We bring blank tags for finishers that are either not wearing a bib, or whose bib tag is missing or otherwise unusable. We bring clipboards and tape recorders to record bib numbers manually at transition checkpoints. We bring 2-way radios for coordination and communication between Becky and Alan.
• Computer Equipment - We usually bring 2 notebook computers (for large races we may bring 3 or 4), 2 or more extra keyboards, a laser printer, two or more barcode readers, and associated cables and supplies for networking the computers, or to connect the timers to the computers for gathering race timing data.
  
• Reports - We like to post tentative results during the race, so that athletes can see how they did, and can tell us of any anomalies that we were not aware of (for example, spouses or friends wearing each other's bib number, incorrect birthdates and/or ages, misassigned genders, people that finished but are not in the results, Clydesdales/Athenas who forgot to check the box, people who started in a later/earlier wave than the one they were assigned to, etc., etc.). For USAT sanctioned triathlons, we also like to post a set of results with all penalties included so that the athletes can see their adjusted time and place as well and possibly contest the penalty as well.
• Random Prize Drawings - Many races have a selection of prizes that are handed out to race entrants prior to the awards ceremony. We can quickly prepare a random list of entrants for you, so that you don't have to buy tickets, and then spend time drawing them out of a box.
  
• Award Listings - To make handing out awards as simple as possible, we prepare custom reports that show who the top people or teams are in each award category. We have created reports for dozens of various types of award categories, and advise other timing companies on how to prepare reports for unusual situations. For example:
  Overall awards, masters awards and awards for a number of different combinations of gender and age group.
  Marathons and multisport events typically have additional awards for various categories of relay teams.
  Many running races and multisport events also score teams where, for example, the finish times of the fastest 3 of the 4 people on the team are added together to make a total team time, and these total times are then compared, with the teams having the lowest total time win each category.
  Multisport events often have special awards for professional or elite athletes, and Clydesdales/Athenas, and some break these into under-40 and 40+  subcategories as well.
  Many races do not allow athletes who win an overall, an overall masters or a special category award to also win a sex/age group award. We can handle it either way; just let us know.
  For cross-country races, we typically score 5 runners per team, with 7 displacing, but we can handle many other types of situations, such as showing the top 20 individuals who were not a member of the first 5 teams at a regional or sectional meet.
  We can handle many other types of award reports; just tell us what you need ahead of time, so we can prepare it and be ready.
  
• Web Results - Results will be uploaded to www.timingiseverything.com after the race, so that athletes with Internet access can get their official time and place as soon as possible after the race. This also cuts down on the number of people who call after the race to ask for their results. Please be sure to mention this in the materials you give to the athletes. If we can have Internet access after the race, we can most likely upload results before we leave for home (it usually takes about 5 minutes).
  

You can reach us via:
Alan Avery
Elvish Consulting
1408 Noble Ave
Springfield, IL 62704-3450
Phone: 217.698.8600
email: alan@timingiseverything.com
alternate email: ajavery@yahoo.com