Quote:
Originally Posted by dubc80
What is your opinion on gun time vs chip time?
I noticed that times for the Calgary Marathon were ranked by gun time, not chip time. Is this the standard? This was my first organized race so I'm not sure.
Can an expert chime in and let me know why this is?
I was loitering near the back as I don't take the race too seriously so there is quite a difference between my gun and chip times. Almost 4 mins.
To me, the chip time is your "real" time since I don't think the time from when you are standing still until you cross the start line should really count as you're just penguin-walking along with the crowd and not really exerting any energy or covering any distance.
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I believe they use gun time to decide the winners, as there is prize money etc, so they don't want some elite guy hanging back and starting minutes later so that they can disguise their actual time from other elite competitors.
But chip time is what most would consider your real time. I think chip time is also what is used for Boston qualifying times. I'm not 100% sure on that for Calgary this year, but I know it's been chip time at other events that also used gun time to determine the podium finishes.