Random Race Starter Timer (explanation below)
Explanation: This random race starter timer sounds a starter gun at some random time between 1 and 4 seconds after it is clicked, to prevent runners from "anticipating" the starter gun, and thus avoid the need to call false starts when runners begin within 0.1 seconds of the starter gun -- as discussed in this article and this one (and this book). It uses a conditional exponential distribution with rate 1, as explained in these calculations. It works best on a desktop or laptop computer. It is designed to be used at races, ideally connected to multiple loud speakers near all lanes to also avoid sound delays. This page was created by Jeffrey Rosenthal, in August 2021, as a JavaScript program. It may be accessed at probability.ca/starter. Any comments are welcome. In particular, please contact me if you are interested in trying this device at a race.
Explanation: This random race starter timer sounds a starter gun at some random time between 1 and 4 seconds after it is clicked, to prevent runners from "anticipating" the starter gun, and thus avoid the need to call false starts when runners begin within 0.1 seconds of the starter gun -- as discussed in this article and this one (and this book). It uses a conditional exponential distribution with rate 1, as explained in these calculations. It works best on a desktop or laptop computer. It is designed to be used at races, ideally connected to multiple loud speakers near all lanes to also avoid sound delays.
This page was created by Jeffrey Rosenthal, in August 2021, as a JavaScript program. It may be accessed at probability.ca/starter. Any comments are welcome. In particular, please contact me if you are interested in trying this device at a race.