How does a race work when everyone starts at a different spot

Question

when there are 1000's of people running and many rows of people how do they know where everyone started in the race? does everyone finish in the same spot?

Answer 1

In races with huge numbers of runners, often the elite runners or the men and women will have different start lines and merge during the race.

This reduces the amount of traffic during the start and lets more people start near the start line.

Everyone runs the same distance and will finish at the same place.

If there is more than one race going on at the same time, say a 5K and a 10K then you could also have different finish lines.  

Answer 2

When you say 1000's of people, I assume you're talking about a 5k road race.

In the most competitive ones (e.g., the Carlsbad 5000), they'll issue electronic chips to everyone so that each person's time is registered when they actually cross mats at the start and finish lines. The chips provided by ChampionChip are most commonly used at the moment, but some places are trying paper-based versions (that still have their own electronic coding). The chips are attached to each person's shoe. Every person gets an accurate time this way. This is the same method used by the vast majority of marathons these days, too, though it's more critical in marathons where some can take 15-20 minutes or longer for someone just to reach the start line after the gun goes off.

In most 5k's, they go by "gun time." This means the gun goes off at the start, and the clock starts running. If it takes you a few seconds to reach the starting line, that's time you lose, and it's why only those expected to have a chance to win are allowed at the very start. Everyone has the same finish line. At the finish, they collect tags off each person's bib to keep people in order, and they'll mark times down periodically. Those in between are usually estimated. Sometimes they'll adjust times for those later in the race to try and negate time they assume was lost getting to the start line, but not always.

This means for most 5k's, those who aren't the very first finishers tend to not end up with perfect finishing time in the results, but the order of finishers should be accurate enough, and that's what matters most for awards and the like. Results are usually "close enough" for most people's purposes, but if someone really wants to track their time, they need to use their own watch at the start and finish lines. Given most people not at the very front are racing more against time and themselves than against others, the system works for most purposes. Electronic systems that track actual, individual start and finish times separate from gun time are becoming more and more common, but they're still far more widespread in the longer distances than in things like 5k's.

Answer 3

this depends on what kind of race. marathon or track?

Answer 4

Because they end up in a different spot.

Answer 5

Becuase they give every one a number and the people in the same age group(wich the judges dont tell you about)and say you are 17 and im 19 we start at the same time but the people behind us are 23, 25, 27, 29 you finish in 20 minutes and i finish in 23 minutes then you beat me. and the guy who is 23 came in at 17 minutes he doesnt beat you because he isnt in you age group.  I hope this isnt to confusing! lol

Answer 6

on tracks with races under 800m when you have to stay in your lane, the lanes are staggered to make up for the distances of the curves.