minow@mountn.dec.com (Martin Minow) (10/31/90)
Just to blow my own horn a bit: a Mac application I wrote will be used at this year's New York Marathon to compute split (intermediate) times during the race. The program runs on a network of four systems; two are used for data entry of the men's and women's elapsed times, and two are dedicated display servers. (This is overkill, but it makes life easier for the data entry folk, and gives us some redundancy in case one of the machines dies). The data entry folk only enter the elapsed time and lead runners' bib numbers (which we get by radio/cellular phone from the official's vechicle) -- the application has a pre-loaded database of split locations and the names of the elite field. The program computes the split (time to the previous mile or 5Km checkpoint) and the pace in minutes/mile and minutes/km. We've done this for two years now at Boston and generally have data on the screen about 15 seconds after the information is received by the press-room staff (this includes logging the data and having the press-room chief verify that the information makes sense according to the race itself). There's one other difference at New York: this is the first time the programs will run without me hovering over them; I'm running the race, too. (Look for the bald guy with the propellor beanie and the Boston Hash House Harriers t-shirt, but don't look among the folk in front -- I'll be a bit over four hours this year). Martin Minow minow@bolt.enet.dec.com