Athlete FAQ
Answers for runners
Results and corrections, bibs and chips, age groups and awards, finish-line video, certificates, and your information.
Results
Finding and fixing results
Go to our Results page and choose your race. Results are searchable by name or bib number, and the results archive has past races back to 2016.
Most races also post results on RunSignup, and some trail and ultra races post them on UltraSignup too.
At many of the races we time, yes. Live results appear on RunSignup as runners finish, so friends and family can check in from anywhere. Look for the results link on the race’s RunSignup page.
Live results are preliminary until they’ve been reviewed after the race.
Results posted during and right after a race are preliminary. After the race we review them, then post the final results on our Results page, where they stay in the archive.
If you spot a problem, let us know as soon as you can. Fresh details are easier to check.
Send a question or correction request. The form asks for your race and bib number, where you wore your bib, your estimated finish time and how you know it (your watch, the race clock, or the finish-line video), and the name or bib of a runner who finished near you. The more you can tell us, the easier it is to check.
Common causes include a bib that was covered, folded, or worn where the mats couldn’t read it; a bib swap; or a registration or distance change that didn’t reach us before the race.
Your official time comes from the timing system, not your watch. If you started your watch before the start line or stopped it after the finish, the two won’t match.
Distance differs too. Certified courses are measured along the shortest possible route, and GPS watches estimate distance from satellite positions along the path you actually ran, so they usually read a little long.
Bibs and chips
Bibs, chips, and race day
On the front of your body, front and center on your chest or stomach, flat and fully visible, with a pin in each corner. Your timing chip is on the back of the bib, so don’t fold or cut the bib, don’t pin through the chip, and don’t cover it with a jacket, vest, or hydration pack.
The race day guide has more race-morning tips.
Front and center on your chest or stomach is best. If you use a race belt, wear it in front, keep the bib flat, and make sure nothing covers it. Avoid your back, legs, or hat, and never carry your bib folded in a pocket. A bib the mats can’t read is a common reason a result goes missing.
No. The chip is a disposable tag on the back of your bib. Keep your bib as a souvenir. There’s nothing to return.
Ask the race first. Transfers and distance changes are up to each race, and they’re usually handled through registration or at packet pickup.
Please don’t run with someone else’s bib. Results follow the bib number, so the time shows up under the wrong name, age, and gender, and it can bump another runner out of an award. If a swap or distance change already happened, send a question or correction request with both names and bib numbers.
Times, places, and extras
Age groups, awards, video, and certificates
Clock time, also called gun time, runs from the start signal to the moment you cross the finish line. Chip time, or net time, starts when you cross the start line, so it doesn’t count the time it took to reach the line in a crowded start.
Each race decides which one counts for awards, so check the race information. Learn how to read your results.
Each race sets its own age groups, often 10-year ranges like 30-39, with different ranges for younger runners at some races. You’re usually placed by your age on race day, using the age and gender from your registration.
In our results, an age group combines gender and age range, like F 30-39 or M 40-49.
Each race sets its own awards. Many recognize the top overall finishers and the top finishers in each age group. In our results, overall award winners often appear in a division such as M Top 3 or F Top 3.
Whether overall winners can also take an age group award, and whether awards use clock time or chip time, depends on the race.
At many of our races, yes. When there’s video, your row in the results has a link that opens our finish-line video on YouTube at about the moment you finished, and the race’s results page links to the full video.
Find your row in the results and use the Finisher Certificate link. It opens your individual result on RunSignup, where you’ll find your certificate.
It depends on the race. Many of our results include finish-line video, and some races share photos on their own website or social media, so check the race’s page for links.
Privacy
Your information
Results usually list your name, bib number, gender, age, age group, city, and state, along with your times, pace, and places. That information comes from your race registration, so the best way to get it right is to check your registration before race day.
If your name, age, gender, or hometown is wrong, send a question or correction request.
For anything else about how your information appears, such as a request to remove your name, contact us with the race name and your bib number and tell us what you’d like changed.
Use our contact form or email info@overlandtiming.com. For a question about a specific result, the question or correction form is best because it asks for the details we need.
Still need help?
Ask about a result.
Send a question or correction request with your race and bib number, and we’ll look into it.