London Marathon Chip Timing Question

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The_Saint Apr 2017 12:50pm, 3 Apr 2017 6,000 posts	0 The_Saint Is it possible in principle to have a London finishing time on the Virgin London Marathon Results pages with a start time, a finish time and no intermediate splits ? I have been reading a thread on Letsrun.com where a UK runner is being discussed and they correctly reference that this person managed this in 2016.
Glennj Apr 2017 12:58pm, 3 Apr 2017 34 posts	0 Glennj I don't think so, as when I've ran London, I have seen people who's chip has come off, physically bend down and touch the carpet with there running chip, to ensure all miles are recorded. Hope this helps.
WildeRover Apr 2017 2:21pm, 3 Apr 2017 3,970 posts	0 WildeRover On the simple question of is it possible to have a legitimate start time, finish time with no intermediate splits - I would have thought so. I would have thought that someone who lost a chip, or had a chip that wasn't registering etc, at London, more so than anywhere else, could point to video evidence showing them crossing start/finish line, with a confirmed time, to get a result listed. If you are raising money for charity on the basis of completing it, then I would have thought that the London Marathon organisation would have a process for getting people back into results, based on bib number and video evidence, for lost time recording issues. So in principle, possible.
Ultracat Apr 2017 2:47pm, 3 Apr 2017 11,610 posts	0 Ultracat I guess you can but how do you prove you haven't cheated and cut out a few miles on the course, there is an out and back bit on the course where you can with some thought you can get yourself a massive negative split and miss a couple of timing mats
DaveG Apr 2017 3:13pm, 3 Apr 2017 347 posts	0 DaveG I've genuinely had chips which haven't registered over mats before now. In the Liverpool Marathon my chip never registered going over the start mat, so they initially gave me a made-up start time well before I actually started. I emailed and explained exactly when I crossed, where I was and what I was wearing and they agreed the video showed I did start when I said, not the time the system generated It's possible this runner had a faulty chip which only registered at the start line, and was able to get their finish time added to the results by reviewing the finish line videos.
Oranj Apr 2017 3:31pm, 3 Apr 2017 418 posts	0 Oranj In 2014 my chip was fine through the first couple of timing mats and then apparently didn't register for the next three, so I suppose it does happen. This is why the Elites always have two chips - one on each shoe. Had I known Evil Grin, it would've been possible for me to exit the course at 10km, jog through the Rotherhithe tunnel (or catch the tube to Canary Wharf etc.) and resume the race. I was captured by the cameras on Tower Bridge though.
swittle Apr 2017 3:44pm, 3 Apr 2017 43,309 posts	0 swittle RW forums have an annual purge of VMLM runners whose times are ahem suspicious. Missed split CPs on results summaries are mercilessly exposed.
WildeRover Apr 2017 4:49pm, 3 Apr 2017 3,971 posts	0 WildeRover Those who cut the barrier just after Tower Bridge are far easier to spot, simply because you have split data for them that shows the anomaly. By the way, the one that The Saint is referring to is a very, very, probable cheat, liar, technically fraudster and probably a few other naughty names (but it's all for charity - blah, blah) - based on lots of other information available. However, that doesn't mean that everyone with only a start and finish time for London is going to be a cheat. As I said, it is possible.
WildeRover Apr 2017 4:57pm, 3 Apr 2017 3,972 posts	0 WildeRover On Ultracat's question of "how do you prove you haven't cheated"...I'm not sure you can, however having some photos from photographers around the course, taken near athletes running at similar times, rather than ALL of your photos being in the last mile would help; maybe the only time you are caught on video shouldn't be on the finishing straight, running fairly comfortably, but at a pace slower than those around you; not having times for other events that vary wildly, with the odd race photo that looks remarkably not like you, would help with making people think you are an honest runner; maybe the other marathon you have completed, you could not have a massive negative split, with a second half split that is around your half marathon PB, to give you some credibility. All things that this particular individual seems to fail on.
Dvorak Apr 2017 9:38pm, 3 Apr 2017 13,433 posts	0 Dvorak Having dipped a toe just now into the unseemly cesspool of "LtsRn", I'm wondering if The_Saint's question is linked into a certain attempt at a considerable athletic feat due to start this week, the success of which looks somewhat unlikely?