Tracking the final runner in a multi-distance wave start race

[Adam Engst]

I suspect Vesa’s answer may be useful for other people, so asking here. 

We have a trail race with three distances: 26.2 miles, 17 miles, and 8.5 miles. We’ve done wave-start timing fine for years, but this year we’re trying to figure out how to better track the last runner so we can let the aid station people go before the sweep reaches them.

• The 26.2-mile race starts at 7 AM with a baby loop and then does three loops of the full 8.5-mile course.
• The 17-mile race starts at 8 AM and does two loops of the course.
• The 8.5-mile race starts at 9 AM and does a single loop.
  

At the finish line, the 8.5-mile runners finish, but the other two distances continue through for another loop. I’ve never done a race where we’ve timed laps before, but I assume we turn on Record Lap Times and then set each race to the number of laps (I might skip the first baby loop for the marathoners because we don’t really care and other things are happening when that is going on).

What I’m having trouble visualizing is how we determine who the last runner is. It will certainly be a marathoner. Does the Progress screen reveal that info?

Thanks!

cheers… -Adam

[Vesa Suomalainen]

When you tap the “Progress view” toolbar icon on the “Race Timing” panel, here’s what you’ll see.  In this example, all 8.5 mile racers have finished.  One racer remains on the 17 mile and four on the 26.2 mile.  

To find out the names & bib numbers of those still on course, tap the green arrow on the right to get the racer list.

The “Race Progress” panel counts only finishers - you can see from the timing panel which lap each racer is presently on.  

[Adam Engst]

So if I’m understanding right, we’ll know which marathoners are on their last lap, but not be able to tell from the display which one is likely in last (obviously, they could change positions in the final lap, but that’s fairly unlikely unless they're running close together or someone drops out mid-lap).

That should be pretty easy to follow manually…

Thanks!

cheers… -Adam

[Vesa Suomalainen]

You can check the time stamps on the “Fast-tap view” which racer was recorded last for the 3rd lap of the marathon.  

To estimate the finish time for the last racer, you can navigate to the “Results” panel, tap “Lap times” toolbar button, select “Overall / Lap times for lap 2” to see how long that racer took to complete lap 2.

On May 15, 2026, at 8:28 AM, Adam Engst <a...@tidbits.com> wrote:

So if I’m understanding right, we’ll know which marathoners are on their last lap, but not be able to tell from the display which one is likely in last (obviously, they could change positions in the final lap, but that’s fairly unlikely unless they're running close together or someone drops out mid-lap).

That should be pretty easy to follow manually…

Thanks!

cheers… -Adam

On May 14, 2026 at 8:04:20 PM, Vesa Suomalainen <ve...@webscorer.com> wrote:

When you tap the “Progress view” toolbar icon on the “Race Timing” panel, here’s what you’ll see.  In this example, all 8.5 mile racers have finished.  One racer remains on the 17 mile and four on the 26.2 mile.  

To find out the names & bib numbers of those still on course, tap the green arrow on the right to get the racer list.

The “Race Progress” panel counts only finishers - you can see from the timing panel which lap each racer is presently on.  

<Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 4.54.02 PM.jpg>

<Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 4.57.56 PM.jpg>

<Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 5.01.46 PM.jpg>

[Adam Engst]

Ah! That makes sense, thanks!

cheers… -Adam

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