A Gap Factor is the minimum time RaceDay Scoring waits before it will accept another scored read for the same participant at the same Timing Location. The column label is Gap Factor (Min Time Between Reads).


The table appears when Max Number of Occurrences is more than 1. After a scored read, later reads for that person at this location show Within Gap Factor. until that wait has passed. The next read after the wait can become the next Occurrence.


Set it to the shortest time you would ever expect between two scored crossings for anyone who uses this location. For a common start/finish 5K, that is often about 13 minutes. A 5K and a 10K that share the location still share that one Gap Factor. Use the fastest event, not the slowest.


You set this on Timing Locations, under Finish & Split Point Read Settings. Other checks, such as Min Elapsed Finish Time Allowed, live on the Scored Event and run later.


One Timing Location, more than one Scored Event

Gap Factor is per person at that location. It is not a wall between events. A 5K finisher and a 10K starter on the same mat do not use Gap Factor against each other.

The location still has one Gap Factor and one Max Number of Occurrences.

  • If every event only needs one scored time here, leave Max Number of Occurrences at 1. You do not set a Gap Factor, even if several events share the mat.
  • If any event needs two scored crossings here (common start/finish, or a split then a finish), set Max Number of Occurrences to cover that event. Set the Gap Factor to the shortest of those double crossings.
  • Set Min Elapsed Finish Time Allowed on each Scored Event. A 5K and a 10K can have different minimums. Gap Factor cannot, because it is not per event.
  • Keep one event’s finishers from mixing with another event’s starters by using start and finish windows, Accept Times Between, or Accept Bibs Between. Gap Factor will not do that.
  • Point each Scored Event’s Default Finish Occurrence at the Occurrence that event actually uses. On Start & Finish/Split Times, a participant who only finishes here still gets Occurrence 2 (a missed start). That event’s finish should be Occurrence 2.

Gap Factor also does not ignore warmup jogs. Start Times Only uses the last read in the start window, or the first if Use First Start Read is on.


Common start/finish


Choose Start & Finish/Split Times. RaceDay Scoring sets Max Number of Occurrences to at least 2. On the Scored Event, set Default Finish Occurrence to 2.


When both crossings exist, Occurrence 1 is the start and Occurrence 2 is the finish. The start is the last read in the start window, unless Use First Start Read is on. The finish is the first read after the Gap Factor and Consider Finish/Split Finish Times after (earliest expected Finish/Split Time).


If a participant never crosses in the start window, and Require Chip Start Time is off, the first read after the earliest expected finish is still Occurrence 2. It scores as the finish, not as a start. Their start time is the Scored Event gun time. A missed start does not consume the finish. If Require Chip Start Time is on, that finish is unused instead.


The usual setup keeps Consider Start Times until (latest expected Start Time) earlier than the earliest expected finish, so the windows do not overlap. Reads between those two times are unused.


If the latest expected start is after the earliest expected finish, the windows overlap. The Timing Location form warns that this is not the normal case. Use it when people keep starting for a long time while others are already finishing. Clock time alone cannot tell start from finish, so the first set of reads is the start, and later reads for that person become the next Occurrence only after the Gap Factor. A start past Max Chip Start Time Offset is normally unused. In an overlap, that same read can still be used as a finish if it is after the earliest expected finish.


If one participant has more than one valid start/finish pair that meets the Gap Factor, open Raw Reads and click Ambiguous Times.


Lap Event locations


Check Lap Event only for a duration race with no fixed distance, such as a 6 hour or 12 hour. Do not use it for a 2-lap 10K or a 4-lap half. Those use ordinary occurrences on a non-lap location.


On a Lap Event location, Max Number of Occurrences is locked at 2 and greyed out. That does not limit you to two laps. The Timing Locations list shows Max # Occ. | Unlimited (Lap Event). You set one Gap Factor. RaceDay Scoring reuses that same wait before every later lap. A lap that is too soon shows Lap Time Too Short. Min Default Lap Time Allowed on the Scored Event is a separate check.


Which filter is applied first

A read has to pass the earlier checks before Gap Factor or Scored Event finish rules can use it. The Reason column in Raw Reads shows which check marked the read unused.

  1. Additional Bib & Time Filters on the Timing Location. Accept Bibs Between is the Timing Location Bib Filter. Accept Times Between is the Timing Location Time Filter.
  2. Timing Location start and finish windows: Consider Start Times until (latest expected Start Time) and Consider Finish/Split Finish Times after (earliest expected Finish/Split Time). Reasons include After last expected start time and Before first expected finish/int. time.
  3. Max Chip Start Time Offset on the Scored Event. A late chip start is After Max Chip Start Offset. This only applies to start reads.
  4. Gap Factor and Max Number of Occurrences. Extra reads inside the wait are Within Gap Factor. Extra passes after the last defined Occurrence are Occurrence not defined.
  5. Min Elapsed Finish Time Allowed on the Scored Event, or Min Default Lap Time Allowed on a Lap Event. This only applies to the event’s actual finish location and Occurrence. A finish that already passed the Gap Factor can still be unused as Before Min. Allowed Finish Time.
  6. Require Chip Start Time, if checked. Later reads are Start Read Required by Event. The gun time is not used as a fallback.


Main Stream vs Backup Stream is a separate choice at the same location. A Main read is used even if a Backup read is earlier. A Backup read inside the Gap Factor of a Main read is unused.


If the Gap Factor looks wrong

  • Too short: a linger, chute loop, or extra pass can become the next Occurrence.
  • Too long: a real second pass stays Within Gap Factor.
  • Extra passes after Max Number of Occurrences show Occurrence not defined.

If you only need one finish at this location, leave Max Number of Occurrences at 1. The Gap Factor table does not appear. Finish and/or Split Times already use the first read after the earliest expected finish.


Where to set it

  1. Open Timing Locations and Edit the location.
  2. Set the start and finish windows under Start Read Settings and Finish & Split Point Read Settings.
  3. For a Lap Event, check Lap Event. Max Number of Occurrences stays at 2. Enter the one Gap Factor. For any other location, set Max Number of Occurrences, then enter each Gap Factor. The row for Occurrence 1 is the wait before Occurrence 2.
  4. Open Additional Bib & Time Filters only if you need Accept Bibs Between or Accept Times Between.
  5. On each Scored Event, set Min Elapsed Finish Time Allowed or Min Default Lap Time Allowed, plus Max Chip Start Time Offset and Require Chip Start Time if you use them.


See How To Setup a Common Start/Finish Race, View Raw Reads and Troubleshoot Missing Scored Reads, and Scoring Duration-Based Lap Events.