March 31, 2004
IT sets the pace at London marathon
This year's Flora London Marathon will be the most IT-enabled race in the history of the event, reports vnunet.com.
"More than 33,000 runners competing in the marathon on 18 April will have their positions tracked and recorded by electronic tags attached their shoes.
Friends and family of competitors will also be able to follow their progress by signing up to an SMS text message service that will send athletes' positions as they make their way around the 26 mile, 385 yard course.
Special mats will be positioned every 5km along the marathon course. When an athlete runs over the mat, their time and position is sent to an Oracle database.
At locations throughout the course when people run across some of the mats it will trigger an SMS message."
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