Race check-in and finish-line timing
Check-in and timing on volunteer phones.
Check runners in and time the finish with the phones your volunteers already carry. It keeps working when the signal drops, and results go on a public page when you post them.
Included with every Ironstride race day
24:31
From the 8:00:00 AM start
Check-in
A check-in table that works without a signal.
Parks, school fields and gyms often have weak cell service. Each check-in volunteer opens race day in the Ironstride app and enters a private invite code from you. The phone saves the race list, so check-in keeps going offline: the screen shows Offline · saved on this phone, and saved check-ins are sent when the phone reconnects.
Volunteers find each runner and confirm their bib. If someone still needs to sign the waiver, they sign on the phone, and a parent or guardian signs for a child. Walk-ups are added on the spot with a name, age group, distance, start and an unused bib.
When check-in closes, the volunteer ends check-in and locks the phone, and unused spots go back to your race.
Offline · saved on this phone
Check-in
The finish line
A finish clock two volunteers can trust.
At the start, the primary finish phone starts the race clock, and every finish is timed from that tap. As runners cross, the volunteer types each bib number. A second volunteer can pair a backup phone with a short code read out loud, and it follows the same start.
Both phones keep every finish when offline and send them when the signal comes back. If the two phones disagree about a finish, you choose the right time before anything is posted.
From the 8:00:00 AM start
Two phones, one start
Results
Results you post when you are ready.
Review first
Every finish has a decision before results go public. Nothing posts by itself.
A public results page
Runners find their name or bib on the race page. Take results down again any time.
Privacy built in
Kids are counted, never named. Adults who hid their name show as A finisher.
Race morning
Four jobs, a few phones.
Invite volunteers
Make a private invite code for each phone and role.
Check people in
Online or offline, walk-ups included.
Start the clock
The primary phone starts it; a backup can pair.
Post results
Review the finishes, then post to the public page.
Organizer controls
You stay in charge of every phone.
From the organizer tools in the app, you set the race date, time zone, start time and check-in hours, and you can name up to 20 starts, like a kids’ dash and the main 5K. You decide which volunteer gets which job, one private invite code per phone, and you can see which phones hold a role.
If something goes wrong on race morning, pause race-day tools for everyone and resume when you are ready. Phones that are offline learn about a pause when they reconnect. A lost phone can be held so its spots are never handed out again, and if you replace the waiver, phones lose access until everyone signs the new text.
Spring 5K · race morning
Race-day phones
Is this chip timing?
No. It is volunteer timing on phones, made for fun runs, school races and community 5Ks. For a certified course or a qualifying race, use a professional timing company.
Questions
Race day check-in and timing questions.
Do volunteers need an account?
Yes. Each volunteer uses the free Ironstride app, signed in, plus the private invite code you give them for their role. They see only the race-day tools for that role.
What if we lose cell service?
Check-in and the finish line both keep working offline and save everything on the phone. When the phone reconnects, the volunteer sends the saved work.
What if a volunteer loses their phone?
You can revoke that phone’s access from your organizer tools. Spots it held are not reused.
Can we use a backup timer?
Yes. Pair a second phone with the primary finish phone. If their times for a finish disagree, you choose which one is right before posting.
How much does race day check-in and timing cost?
It is included with every race day. Events are free for up to 15 people, then one price for the whole race by size, from $49 for up to 50 people.
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