"Tweet My Time" to Debut at 30th Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon
Free application synchronized with the ChampionChip timing device

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Posted Monday, 21 September, 2009

From Ryan Lamppa, Running USA

COLUMBUS, Ohio - (September 17, 2009) - For the first time in a running or walking event, a participant's progress can be automatically tweeted at various splits along the course of the 30th Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon on Sunday, October 18.

The application is called "Tweet My Time" and has been developed for the Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon by Huber+Co. Interactive, the event's website design firm.

"This is the first time that participants will be able to automatically tweet out their times to their followers without taking their mind off their race," said Scott Weaver, Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon Race Director. "We're a long-standing racing tradition, and as a result, we're always looking for ways to offer participants more value and excitement. We are thrilled that our partners at Huber+Co. developed this application in time for the 30th anniversary event.

The program works through synchronizing with the ChampionChip timing device that each registered athlete will wear on Race Day to record his or her time. Many races have an automatic text mechanism that sends text updates to people who register for them, but those come at a price - either to the participant or to the event. Tweet My Time is a free application.

Tweet My Time will automatically post an update to participants' Twitter status at five different checkpoints along the full marathon course - the start, 10K, half-marathon, 20K and finish. Additionally, the updates will include the athlete's progress and estimated finish time; participants also have the option to post selective Twitter updates to FaceBook.

In order to participate in this free service, registered participants in the Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon can simply register at TweetMyTime.com or at columbusmarathon.com and their registration will be verified (this may take up to 48 hours). The program will then kick in as soon as they cross the start line on Race Day, Sunday, October 18.

The 30th Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon is on pace to sell out at 15,000 total participants in the full, the ½ marathon and the 5K events. The Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon, a member of Running USA, was one of the 25 largest marathons in the United States in 2008. For more information or to register, visit: www.columbusmarathon.com

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