A tag on the running shoes

On Sunday, competitors at the Flora London Marathon will have their positions tracked and recorded by electronic tags attached to their shoes.

Special mats will be positioned every 5km along the course. When an athlete runs over the mat, his time and position are sent to one of the 8 databases that communicate with the PCs that keep track of athletes, relaying information to commentators, the BBC, press and race organisers.
Friends and family of runners will follow their progress by signing up to an SMS service provided by Orange.

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