Auto Finish Gap and Chip Capture Start

[Rod Simpson]

I have a busy day on Sunday.  700+ runners over the day in 7 races that overlap each other with some races going through the finish area multiple times.

It is a gun start with the start line away from the finish and I am unable to setup for a chip capture start so I will be using gun time for everything.

Crowd control is an issue and people tend to wander all over and in the past people randomly start their runs not at their allotted time (that is a whole other story).

Anyway, I wanted to use the "Auto Finish Gap" to stop people getting picked up as finishing as they wander onto the course a few minutes after the official start of their run.

However, when I was testing it today, the Auto Finish Gap doesn't work unless you have Capture Chip Start Times.

1) So, can I click Capture Chip Start Times, start the run, 10 minutes after the official start I turn off Capture Chip Start Times and go from there?  

Since officially there should be no runners going through the start, I should not have any chip start times and my understanding is ART in the absence of a chip start will assign a gun time start (I may be wrong).

Also, I have some races finishing or coming through the finish for laps while other races are starting.  So, 

2) If Chip Capture Start Times is clicked for the start of a race while finishers/laps are also happening how does ART know to read finish and laps on some races and not treat them as chip starts?

E.g.
7:30: 50K race goes - capture chip start active, no chip start reads, turn off capture chip start after 10 min.  

Then,

8:30: 25K race goes - capture chip start active, no chip start read, turn off capture chip start after 10 min.

What happens if the 50K person comes through for a lap at 8:30 while Capture Chip start is active for the start of the 25K?

Thanks,

Rod

[Brian Agee]

The "auto finish gap" is only considered for participants that have a chip start time.

If "capture chip start" is checked, and someone is picked up that does not have a chip start time assigned to them, then it will assume that participant has just started the race.

So unfortunately checking/unchecking "capture chip start" and relying on the 'auto finish gap' would not do the trick.

[Rod Simpson]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Good to know that this is not what I need to do.

Curious though if I was doing a capture chip start with multiple races with different start times but starting and finishing at the same spot.

How does ART handle a finisher in an earlier race when they cross the start/finish line while the Capture Chip Start is clicked for the start of another race?

[Brandon Daniels]

Fine as long as the finisher from the earlier race has an earlier chip start time as well.  If that finisher didn't have a chip start time from earlier, then his/her finish will likely be captured as a Chip Start time.

[Rod Simpson]

Good to know.  Thanks