1. The simple idea

A running event needs just two things: a start time and a finish time for every runner. With our free app you set the start time once, for everyone, and put one phone on the finish line. That is the whole system.

2. How each runner's time is worked out

You do no sums at all. The phone remembers the clock time when you record each number. The app takes your start time away from that finish time. What is left is the runner's time.

Here are four runners, as the app sees them. The start time was 10:00:00:

3. Setting it up

1. Get your free account and create the event. Choose the event type Running Event (Start Time & Finish - 1 timing point). It creates the race and one timing point, Finish, for you.
2. Set the start time. Go to the Races page and press Update Start Time on your race. Type the time the race will start, for example 10:00:00, and save. Do not leave it empty, or the app has nothing to count from.
3. Add your runners. Add them one at a time, or import a CSV with the number, name, gender, date of birth and club. Type numbers as 1, not 001. The age category is worked out from the date of birth.
4. Set up the finish phone. Open the timing app, enter the event password and in Settings pick the Finish timing point. Check the phone's clock is correct. Expecting a busy finish? Set up a second phone the same way, on the same Finish point.
5. Start the race at the start time you set. Nobody has to press anything at the start.
6. Record each finisher. As each runner crosses the line, record their number on the finish phone. Results build up live.
7. Share the results. Give people your public results link, which looks like sportstimingsolutions.co.uk/freeresults/your-race-name.

4. Watch it work (animation)

Four runners start together at 10:00:00. Watch each one cross the finish line, the phone record their number, and the results build up in order.

5. Tips for the finish line

• Record the number as the runner crosses the line. The time is taken the moment you record it, so record straight away, then check you got the number right.
• Make sure the start time is right. It must match the real start. If the race actually started late, change it on the Races page with Update Start Time and every runner's time updates by itself.
• Check the phone's clock before the race. The finish times come from it.
• Busy finish? Use 2 phones. If lots of runners will arrive together, put two phones on the same Finish point with two people, side by side at the line. One can call out the numbers or take every other runner, and if one person misses a bib the other has it.
• Even when it is quiet, record them in the order they cross. Use No number if you miss a bib, and add the number later.
• Wrong number or missed one? Correct it on the Raw Times page of your free account and the results update.
• No signal? No problem. The app keeps working and sends the times when it gets a signal back. You only need a signal to install it, which you can do the day before.
• Make sure runners wear a clear number on the front, so the person at the finish can read it quickly.

6. Results and reports

7. Summary

• One start time: set once on the race, the same for everyone.
• One phone: on the Finish point at the finish line. Use two phones if the finish will be busy.
• Record each number as the runner crosses the line.
• The app does the sums: finish time minus start time gives each runner's time and position.
• Live results: on the public results page, with printed reports at the end.

Set the start time, point a phone at the finish line, and let the app do the rest.