Previously I reported that my unofficial time in the Tokyo Marathon was 3:17:21. That’s true, but I think some clarification is in order. Marathons usually report two times: gun time and chip time. Gun time is the time from when the starting gun fires until the runner crosses the finish line. Chip time, on the other hand, is the time from when the runner crosses the starting line until the runner crosses the finish line. In big marathons (such as the Tokyo Marathon), there can be a significant difference between gun time and chip time, because it takes a while to get to the starting line, since it’s so crowded.

Usually, when a runner talks about his or her marathon time, he/she refers to chip time, and this is his/her official time. My unofficial time in the Tokyo Marathon of 3:17:21 was actually my gun time. As for my chip time, believe it or not, I’m still not sure what it was. For some reason, I’ve heard that the Tokyo Marathon takes a couple weeks to report official (chip) times. When I crossed the finish line, my watch said 3:15, so I believe that this was my chip time. We’ll have to wait and see. Hopefully, I’ll find out soon!

Tags: marathon, marathons, Tokyo Marathon, running