Do any of you still have your D-tag on your shoe?

[Mark214]

I have done one race where the tag was attached to the bib. Incorporating it into the bib is one step in the right direction in reducing waste.

I wrote the New York Road Runners to ask them if they had plans to deal with the waste being generated by moving to D Tags. I did not get a reply. I also wrote Runners World and suggested they do a story about the D Tag. They did not write back either.

On the site for the company that makes D Tags, they mention being able to mail your tag back so that it can be properly recycled. I wonder how much can actually be recycled. Of course, that would probably be offset by the waste generated in mailing the tag back.

 

[sue2]

the info I'm getting on the chip being in the tag comes from NYRR...so I think they are working towards it. Interesting that the D-Chip people can recycle. Maybe races should have containers somewhere past the finishers' chute where people can leave their tags for recycling. Thanks for that info...I'll share it with our local event managment people and see if they can promote the recycling potential.

 

[Mark214]

You are welcome. I thought about suggesting containers. It certainly would be a step in the right direction. I know the NYRR promote using mass transit to get to their races so I would hope that they would work on finding a "greener" way of capturing runners time.

 

[kmab00]

I just took mine off yesterday! It's going in my scrapbook!

 

[heatherlynn444]

just took my off, I got tired of my kids at basketball practice telling me I still had my price tag on my shoe

 

[Mooshu]

I unpacked my shoes and they are still in the garage with the D tags on, I'm going to retire the marathon pair, but I think my 1/2 marathon pair have a couple more races in them.

 

[kmab00]

just took my off, I got tired of my kids at basketball practice telling me I still had my price tag on my shoe

That's so funny, Heather!!!

 

[cewait]

the info I'm getting on the chip being in the tag comes from NYRR...so I think they are working towards it. Interesting that the D-Chip people can recycle. Maybe races should have containers somewhere past the finishers' chute where people can leave their tags for recycling. Thanks for that info...I'll share it with our local event managment people and see if they can promote the recycling potential.

I hate to see the chip imbedded in the bib. It just raises the probability of not getting read while crossing the radio field over the mat. If I rmember my physics correctly signal strength is diminished by distance squared.

I guess if you are tall you need to duck a little to get the transmitter close enough to energize and transmit

 

[sue2]

Hopefully they will test the B-Chips (that's the bib version) well before they roll them out. I saw a lot of D-Chips on the ground at Disney...at least it'll be harder for someone to lose their bib.

I saw a tri finish once where you had the option of belly sliding down a slip-n-slide sort of thing. That would get the bib close to the mat!

 

[sue2]

to wit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj-TwP2gE48

 

[FFigawi]

I hate to see the chip imbedded in the bib. It just raises the probability of not getting read while crossing the radio field over the mat. If I rmember my physics correctly signal strength is diminished by distance squared.

I guess if you are tall you need to duck a little to get the transmitter close enough to energize and transmit

Maybe they could use RFID chips embedded in the bibs. That would solve the closeness issue while also cutting down somewhat on the amount of waste created.

And am I the only one that misses the "beeeeeep" of hundreds of runners crossing a timing mat at the same time? I find myself manually beeping during most races I do these days, mostly for my own amusement but sometimes other people join in too.