GRC timing system tracks progress early

After three years of chip timing the kids divisions of the GVB Guam Ko’ko’ Race Weekend’s Kids Fun Run, the system is running like a well-oiled machine, says Ko’ko’ Race Director Manny Hechanova.

Kids have long been a part of the Ko’ko’ race weekend, and every other running event, said Hechanova, but what they really wanted was to get the fancy race bibs so they could get official chip times too. They wanted the same kind of race bibs that mom and dad used.

Previously, a Guam Running Club manual system was used. At the starting gun, a clock would start and runners would take off. At the finish line, a skilled official would click a button every time a finisher crossed. That finisher would proceed through a chute and receive a stick with a number on it.

Officials would then match bib numbers to the stick, then match it with the finisher’s click to get a time and placing. It worked well for years, but it wasn’t without problems.

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Now, it’s a simple set it and forget it, said Hechanova. Not only do runners get their own bibs, but the chip timer also logs the actual time the runner takes off from the starting line and when the finish line is crossed. That way a runner who is deep in the back isn’t penalized.

“It takes a lot of the madness of manual timing out of the picture,” he said.

Of the 312 registered, 266 runners actually showed to complete the race, he said.

Asked if he saw any future-worthy times, his response was immediate:

“These kids are fast. This is what we call our breeding ground. We get them from here, bring them into the middle schools and then to the high schools and maybe they still like running. This is the future of running on Guam and we’re happy to give back to them.”