If you search the race results on the NYRR website, they always list finish time (gun time) and net time (chip time). Are you asking about the final results, in terms of placing? Awards and placing are based on the finish/gun time.

Ah, I see. I guess I was going off of two instances, and they were both anomalies.

For the 5th Avenue Mile, they didn't list the chip time in the results at all. Then when I looked up my girlfriend's time at the 10K yesterday, they don't have a chip time for her for some reason so it left that column out when I searched for her.

Thanks danimalNYC!

Yes, that is standard at most running races. Awards are by gun time, which is really the only fair way to do it.

No worries. Guess that makes sense for the 5th Ave Mile (which I've never run, but really want to), since I believe they send you off in heats. Thus, shouldn't be any difference in gun and chip time.

How'd she do yesterday? :-)

USATF rules don't recognize chip or net times. The race starts when the gun goes off and finishes when you cross the line.

---

----------------------------------------------------------
"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

It's easy to do. Chip timing is a convenience for judging and scorekeeping, not for tracking every single person's actual elapsed time which they may be able to do if they wanted to do it. If you're not qualified to start on the start line or didn't fight for a start position, the real elapsed time is only meaningful to you for your own training/personal goals.

Actually, they just sent us all out at once in the 5th Avenue Mile. I got to the start a little bit late so I got stuck in the middle. Took 7 seconds to even hit the starting mat, then couldn't get any open road in front of me until about 300 meters in. Was quite frustrating. You should definitely do the race next year though. Just make sure you line up near the front!

She did all right. She said she practically walked until the bottom of the hill by Lasker (race started at 102nd) b/c it was so packed (over 4000 people in the race!). I had no idea that race would be so big! Thanks for asking.

I just did the Atlanta Half and they had timing mats at the start, but when the results came out - there was no chip time. The only reason I can think of even having it there if they are not going to post chip times is to prevent people from cheating. I saw this real old fat dude next to me at mile 9. When I passed him he had a bib on, but was running ~8 min/mile pace. I ran a 1:42 - there is no way that guy started from the beginning.