110. The most important thing that an event timing system does is to ensure that everyone who starts an event, also finishes it. Timing itself is not necessarily required, but some mechanism of monitoring the participants is. There have been tragic incidents of participants remaining unaccounted for at the end of events, and therefore a robust system should be in place.
111. Depending on the severity and risk profile of the event, good practice may indicate that two independent systems are used for recording the number of starters and finishers. Although two entirely independent digital timing systems is the gold standard this is only appropriate and affordable for larger high-risk events.
112. In practice, the second system can be as simple as manually counting the starters as they enter a start pen and then counting the finishers as they cross the line. The goal is to ensure everyone has safely returned.
113. GPS Tracking is becoming more popular and affordable as more events adopt this as a means for both following the race live and providing a secondary timing system. GPS Tracking devices usually have an SOS Alert function built into them, so they also provide a way of participants to raise the alarm in remote areas.
114. There are different types of GPS Tracking systems using different technologies and a careful analysis of the pros and cons of each system for the event is required.
115. Using mobile phone tracking apps can provide useful information but they are not a reliable way to track participants or to provide an emergency alert function.