The Marine Corps Marathon, held annually in Washington, D.C. and nearby Arlington, Virginia, is the sixth-largest marathon in the United States. It's also a trendsetter in the marathon industry. "We were one of the early marathons to adopt online lottery registration and ChampionChip Timing technology," says Marc Goldman, the marathon's marketing coordinator. This year, Goldman has set the bar a little higher—by using Cisco Aironet® wireless technology to improve communications for the race participants as well as its more than 100,000 spectators and volunteers.
The Challenge—Establish Uninterrupted Network Transmissions
Uninterrupted Network Transmissions events. Runners attach microchips to their shoelaces that allow precise times to be collected as the runners cross special mats throughout the course. Race organizers have come to rely on the technology, and build data networks to transmit this information—to race headquarters, the Internet, and the media.
But wiring a 26-mile outdoor race course, and transmitting the data reliably, presents a number of challenges. "In the past, we used a wired network on the race site," says Angela Huff, the marathon's business manager. "But that was very time-consuming to set up and the network went down fairly often." To further complicate matters, problems with cell phone transmission of the timing data led to delays in posting live results on the Internet. "If we're offline for a minute, we can miss the data for 1,000 runners who cross a timing spot," says Goldman. The challenge this year was to create a temporary network suitable for the outdoor event yet reliable enough to meet its data transmission requirements.
Thanks to reliable wireless technology from Cisco Systems, fans of the annual Marine Coprs Marathon were able to view instantaneous race via the Internet; on-site, friends and family of the marathon's 17,000 participants were able to get immediate answers when they asked, "Where's my runner?"
Using Wireless Technology to Improve Communication
"Working with Cisco in wireless really reinforces our leadership in this industry."
The Solution—Wireless Technology from Cisco Systems
A small team of engineers from Cisco Systems, working with the marathon's technical team and the timing-device vendor, created a reliable wireless network for the race and the three-day Expo that preceded it. "We used the Cisco Aironet 350 wireless solution, with antennas on a tower near the start-finish line and Cisco Aironet access points at the 10K, halfway point, and 18-mile locations," says Goldman. "Cisco routers and other access points were in the medical tent, the VIP tent, and the network operations center."
The Results—Instant and Reliable Access to Information Race organizers and volunteers accessed data on the network with a variety of wireless devices. The primary goal was to provide instantaneous and accurate transmission of runners' times from the monitoring stations to computers in the information tent and to the marathon's site on the Internet. "Transmission was flawless," says Huff. "It worked exactly the way we wanted." The network provided additional communication services as well.
"Before the race, we used the wireless network for troubleshooting when runners came to the Expo to pick up their
packets," says Huff. `Then, on the day of the race, we used it to communicate between the media and VIP areas, the medical stations, and the awards tent. It always worked perfectly."
The network also made it easier for families and friends of the runners to keep track of their progress. Using Compaq iPAQ handheld devices and Hewlett-Packard laptops that had been outfitted with Cisco wireless cards, volunteers operated "Follow Your Runner" stations at various locations along the route. "These were a great service," says Goldman. "When someone inquired about a runner's progress, the volunteer could connect to the network to find the time he or she had crossed the most recent timing pad and could then predict the current location."
Similarly, the network-based medical tracking system was particularly useful for race organizers and the relatives of injured runners. "We were able to see which aid station had treated a runner and provide information to family members waiting at the finish line," says Huff. "It was a win-win situation for all parties involved."
"Working with Cisco in wireless really reinforces our leadership in this industry," says Goldman.