Timing error adjusted for 300 who ran out losers by wrong clock

Published on Tuesday 12 May 2009 22:06

ORGANISERS of the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run have been forced to apologise to around 300 competitors after a glitch in the timing system wrongly recorded the time it took them to complete the 10K course.

The runners have all had their times adjusted upwards, by up to four minutes in one case, and were e-mailed their correct results a few days after the 3 May race. The results were also erroneously recorded on the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run website, but have now been rectified.

Official race results are calculated by electronic timing mats at the start and end of the race, which pick up signals from computer chips affixed to runners' shoes. It is not unusual for start times to be affected by false starts or runners getting pushed wide of the mark as they jostle for position.

However, the fault lies with the mechanism which normally adjusts the default start times.

David Hart, communications director for race organisers Nova International, said yesterday the mistake was a one-off and said steps had been taken to ensure it never happens again.

He told The Scotsman: "We don't like it when timing goes wrong. Some people were gutted to find out they finished later than they originally thought. We e-mailed people to apologise as soon as we realised what had happened."

Chris Rowley, the timing systems manager for Nova International, said: "When you have around 10,000 people all passing the start mats in four massive waves we do find there is always a chance people will miss the beginning or get pushed wide.

"It's not nice to be telling people they did not run as fast as they thought. We double and triple check the results, and then look at video footage, and that's when the error came to light."