Week One: Journal #3

Thursday, January 5th




Part A:
Today I worked a lot on researching chip timers. I believe I have acquired much valuable information that I can use to help complete the project. It seems as though the chips are becoming less and less expensive as the developers are finding new ways to cut costs with the timers. I am becoming aware that the distributors do not just post how much a timing system and the chips timers cost. I must contact these distributors and get a quote based on the number of participants. This may be a difficult task.

Also, something that worries me is that the race is not just one race, but 2--a 5K and an 8K. Is it possible to track two races at the same time? If not, this could be a potential problem. I am contacting possible outlets who can answer these questions for me.

Something interesting I found was that it is possible to hire a company to time the event. These are specialists that come to the event and handle all the timing and procedures that go into it. The only downfall is that this can be costly. A great question is whether it would be more beneficial to hire a company to come to the race and do the timing, or to purchase the equipment and learn how to do the timing on our own. I must create lists of the costs and advantages of the different sides and compare these to determine what the most cost effective way to handle the situation is.


Part B:
I am becoming more confident with the project as the week goes on. I am very confident wit the information about the timing companies in the Chicago area who are potential qualified solutions to the race problem. Some key events of this week was the realization that we could hire a company to come and time our event. I look forward to contacting the potential timers in the area and finding the best one if that is the route we choose to take. I must meet with Kelly and Nancy to discuss this option since they are out of the office until Monday. Another potential option I thought of today (with the help of my mother) was that there are many sponsors of Sweetness Run, and one of them might be interested in sponsoring the timing portion. This new addition will add quality to the race and will help the racers track their times more easily.

The race is the biggest event for the foundation and I am honored that the foundation is placing such an important task on my shoulders. I hope that my solution will help improve the event so that more runners will want to participate. I know that Nancy and Kelly support my decisions and respect my work capability so I believe this will help to complete the task since I will not be overrun or receive opposition from them. Something that may hinder the completion of the project is that it is not a big time for runs since the the weather and the holidays are recently closing. I have found that some of the organizations are even closed right now and this will make it difficult to receive the information I need to complete the project.