Mass start
Multi tool use
Start of the Vienna City Marathon 2004
Mass start is a format of starting in some racing sports such as long-distance running in athletics (track and field), speed skating, long-distance cross-country skiing and biathlon.
There are usually a large number of competitors in such an event, and in order for all the competitors to have the same environmental conditions, which, among other things, include temperature, wind speed, rain or shine, etc., they need to start at the same time and same place and proceed along the same course. But the large number of competitors makes it impossible to fit all of them at the same starting line. So the athletes stand in a pack before they begin: some are behind others, sometimes by dozens of meters or more, depending on the number of competitors.
The tradition is that all the athletes start at the same time, the gun time, and use the same starting line and same finishing line as those in the front of the pack. This means that those in the back of the pack have to run an extra distance. One's position in the pack at starting is determined either based on their previous records, or chosen by the participant based on their own expectation and etiquette. Usually, the best athletes take the front positions.
Modern electronic technology has made it possible to get the time lapsed for each individual athlete from their crossing the starting line to their crossing the finishing line, the chip time. This is also called transponder timing. However, this has the disadvantage that the race finish is not simultaneous, so the race results do not match the finish line order. Other ways to avoid disadvantage towards those in the back of the pack are individual starts (where athletes start one at a time) and interval starts (where athletes are released in small batches). Chip time is normally not used to determine top positions. The first to reach the finish shall be the winner.
In cross country skiing, on elite level, the tradition is individual start. Each athlete starts at their own predetermined time. Mass starts are used more often after 1990, partly because of TV influence. It creates better summaries for TV stations that do not want to show the entire race, and for viewers who do not want to see all.
External links
- New York Times: "You Clocked What? For Marathon Runners It's Gun vs. Chip."
ZMrDy1BB0,kv AAQ a
Popular posts from this blog
Florida Star v. B. J. F. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search United States Supreme Court case Florida Star v. B. J. F. Supreme Court of the United States Argued March 21, 1989 Decided June 21, 1989 Full case name The Florida Star v. B. J. F. Citations 491 U.S. 524 ( more ) 109 S. Ct. 2603; 105 L. Ed. 2d 443; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 3120; 57 U.S.L.W. 4816; 16 Media L. Rep. 1801 Prior history The Florida Star v. B.J.F., 530 So.2d 286 (1988) Supreme Court of Florida; Florida Star v. B.J.F., 499 So.2d 883 (1986) Fla. Dist. Court of Appeals Holding Florida Stat. § 794.03 is unconstitutional to the extent it makes the truthful reporting of information that was a matter of public record unlawful, as it violates the First Amendment. Court membership Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blac...
Danny Elfman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Danny Elfman Elfman at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con Born Daniel Robert Elfman ( 1953-05-29 ) May 29, 1953 (age 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Spouse(s) Bridget Fonda ( m. 2003) Children 1 Musical career Genres Rock [1] ska [2] new wave film music video game music Occupation(s) Composer, singer, songwriter, record producer Instruments Trombone guitar percussion vocals keyboards [3] Years active 1972–present Associated acts Oingo Boingo James Newton Howard Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Elfman first became known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the band Oingo Boingo from 1974 to 1995. He is well known for scoring films and television shows, particularly his frequent collabora...
The Sandy Post From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search The Sandy Post Type Weekly Newspaper Format Tabloid Owner(s) Community Newspapers/Pamplin Media Group Publisher J. Mark Garber Editor Steve Brown Founded 1937 ( 1937 ) Headquarters Sandy, Oregon Circulation 3,800 Website www.pamplinmedia.com/sandy-post-home/ This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The Sandy Post is a weekly newspaper, published in Sandy, Oregon, United States. The paper, founded in 1937, serves the communities of Sandy, Boring, the Villages at Mount Hood and the surrounding areas. The newspaper is owned by Community Newspapers/Pamplin Media Group, a company of ...
