Open Tracking

30/05/2026

Results from the Welsh 1000m races are here

https://results.opentracking.co.uk/event/shortwelsh1000m2026
https://results.opentracking.co.uk/event/longwelsh1000m2026

11/05/2026

How do we do it?

Yesterday we witnessed what has to be the largest single event we have tracked with over 2300 trackers on riders. We used our new smaller OT30 trackers. Crunch is the battery on these little trackers is setup to last 12hrs and the event lasts 12hrs.

What makes this unique is that we dynamically issued all 2300 trackers in just 90 mins. As you can see in the video we had 5 staff scanning either the riders number or the helmet sticker then scan the tracker. This process not only allocated the tracker to the rider but also ran a few checks on the tracker.

We check the battery level on the tracker - as we were pushing the limit, any with less than 95% were put to one side, to either be top up charged or handed to faster riders starting later (was not needed). The scanning also checks to make sure the tracker has sent data in the last 30 mins and finally there are checks on the numbers scanned - is it a bib number or a tracker number..

Its a very efficient process, something some of our customers are starting to do themselves. It is done using our own custom app on commercial Zebra handheld computers - like what you would see a courier use. If for whatever reason the internet connection drops out they will still record the scans and upload when ready.

If an event consistently has say 20% DNS rate over say 5 years. It be fair to provide say 10% less trackers than the entry list. Only works if we can dynamically allocate on the day.

Suffice to say some events have very low DNS rates - usually expensive events where you will find a good number of people with coughs and colds who on any other race day would stay at home. Also team or pairs based events have low DNS rates (e.g. Saunders Mountain Marathon). Cheaper / remote events have higher DNS rates and we have seen it as high as 40%.

07/05/2026

We are back tracking one of the finest SPORTIVEs in the country. Doesn't get much epic that this.

We are out with 2400 of our new small 39g trackers. We have 6 staff dynamically allocating these trackers just before they set off. Alongside the tracking, we supply a trailer mounted LED screen, trackers for the event staff and starlinks / wifi for remote locations and backup internet for event control.

After last year’s success, all riders on the Fred will carry a GPS tracking device again this year.

Use the link below to open the tracking page. It’s time to get the link shared far and wide amongst family and friends.

Link: https://live.opentracking.co.uk/fred26/

If you’re not sure what rider number your friend or family member has, there is a rider list on our website in alphabetical order.

We still have highly accurate chip timing on the event and these will be posted on our website in the usual way after the event.

Happy dot watching!

Provided by:

06/05/2026

We have been supplying trackers to events for some 14 years, and a significant part of our world is what we call "Self Managed". We parcel up trackers in a bright orange peli case for the organiser to power them up and hand them out.

The organiser needs to manage retirements / did not starts / make sure batteries are OK. For sub 300 participant events its a great way to save money by not paying for someone from Open Tracking to travel to the event. It still needs the organiser to have resource to manage the trackers.

Over the years this has worked well, but when an organiser does have a problem, we will be honest and say our out of hours support has been ad-hoc. With staff checking on incoming emails as and when..

At the beginning of this year we created an on call rota, and now setup a whatsapp channel with the event. We make sure one of us is online when the event starts and highlight any problems we foresee. Whoever is on-call is not glued to their computer.. these are self managed events.. but there is someone there to help if needed.

It was great to get this feedback following an event last weekend. Reinforcing its the right approach.

02/05/2026

Events on today

Thames Path 100 with Centurion Running
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/TP100-2026/

Blast Running Pilgrims Way
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/brpilgrimway26/

Charm Bracelet Trail Events Esk Valley Epic
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/eskvalley26/

Run, walk, crawl with Marathon, 100 mile and Ultra
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/26rasus100/

Plenty of Scouts and DofE stuff.

Tomorrow Marlborough Downs Challenge.
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/mdc2026/

Kong Running have plenty of trackers out, but also one on the Steve Parr Round with Arthur Hill (handy runner in the fells).
https://live.kongtracking.com/SPR2026/?b=2

01/05/2026

The physical tracker is only one part of the story. Getting the settings right, having a web interface to cope with high traffic and be user friendly is another part.

Trackers are usually made without the event market in mind. They come with a USB cable to charge a single tracker. Charging 100's / 1000's especially if you are using them from one weekend to the next is an onerous task and arguably results in problems with trackers being disconnected.

With the new small tracker that we have been using on short races and sportives - we created our own charging trays. Each device has a home. The trays can be stacked, requiring just one power supply. Each tray houses 25 trackers.. hence if you hire these from us they come in 25's (minimum of 100).

In this photo there is 600 trackers - quick and easy to charge. Huge amounts of work have gone in to creating these trays.. with enough to look after 2700 devices.

And yes we colour code the trackers to make it easy to sort them at the end of an event.

So another part of the sauce that makes supplying trackers in large numbers to events work smoothly and without drama.

26/04/2026

Someone found one of our trackers in London this afternoon.. we have Adam trying to catch them up. Currently said tracker is in Kings Cross about to get on a train at Platform 9 3/4's

Beats reality TV this does.. but if you are reading this post having found a tracker with an Open Tracking label on it - just message us. We will find you, special skills and all that. Although a train to Hogwarts takes this to a new level.

25/04/2026

Its the Fellsman today - a 60 mile jog around the Yorkshire Dales.

Live track the event here https://live.opentracking.co.uk/fellsman26/

The shorter DART starts at 1pm and can be tracked here
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/dart26/

18/04/2026

Its a weekend with self managed events - we let the events get on with it themselves. But do connect up with them by WhatsApp so they can get help if they need it.

NAV4 Adventure set off this morning from Askham at 6am with their Lakes Mountain 40. https://live.opentracking.co.uk/26LM40/

CraggRunner have their Peak Birthday Bash. On the full the mass start time is set for 8.30am. They let walkers set off earlier and use our scanners to set early start times. Some are already out there https://live.opentracking.co.uk/pdbirthdayfull26/ the half sets off at 10am https://live.opentracking.co.uk/pdbirthday26/

Rat Race Adventures have their 2 Day Ultra Tour of Arran. Day 1 sets off later this morning. https://live.opentracking.co.uk/uta2026/

Not to be outdone, fellow Rat Race staff have more trackers in out in Croatia this morning https://live.opentracking.co.uk/rrcroatiaw12026/

Climb South West have the Devon Coast to Coast this weekend with a number of sister events (links on this page). These guys are regular users of our kit - its great to see them use it to the full. https://live.opentracking.co.uk/cswdcc180km26/

Rasselbock Running are using trackers on their Sherwood Loop - multiple laps around this iconic forest. https://live.opentracking.co.uk/sherwood26/

Details on the event here https://rasselbock.co.uk/event/the-sherwood-big-loop/

So a quiet one then.

11/04/2026

Another busy weekend for Open Tracking.

South Downs Way 50 with Centurion Running
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/SDW50-2026/

Run Through Lake DIstrict 50k with RunThrough Trails
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/26rtlakedistrict50/

Bruces Crown Race and the Heart of Granite Race (what a name for a race and a wild part of the world) with Nicky Spinks
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/bcr2026/
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/hog0426/

In North Wales we have the She Ultra with Beautifully Brutal Events
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/sheultra26/