Welcome to our blog and this 1st post will talk about what is an announcer line, how it works and why your race should have one.
What is it?
An announcer line is in simple terms a timing line however linked remotely to an external monitor which instead of showing results shows First Name, Last Name, Age, Club and Team of which ever runner has just run over it.
A good example was at the recent Stilton Stumble 10k were we had a line at 6 miles and an announcer on loud speaker giving the runners a shout as they passed by, this was very well received with runners waving back in recognition.
At the end of the day the aim of any race should be runner experience they wont remember if they paid £18 or £20 pounds but they will remember for years to come the enjoyment they had.
How it Works?
At Stilton Stumble we provided a Gazebo, table and a monitor linked up to our timing computer which had the announcer screen on.
They had their own speaker system however we also have a speaker system with microphone which we dont often need to use however we borrowed it to Newcastle 10k this year for prizes/start briefing and they loved it.
As stated above our timing mats/reader boxes work remotely so we dont need to be connected directly into them hence an announcer line works great.
There is a setting so the same runner doesnt come up more than once.
Why should we have one?
This is three fold really
- not every race is doing it as of yet, so make your race stand out from the crowd
- runners will remember doing your race
- Seasons Best dont get timing enquires however you can clearly see if someone has crossed i.e. 6 miles but doesnt have a finishing time so yet another back up back up (you should be running a main and a backup line at the finish anyway).
FAQ
Q. I dont want to be on a microphone
A. I have worked with 3 different radio presenters in the past who also sideline as race announcers
Q. What will it cost
A. We are very competitive and always open and honest for dialogue, if we time your race and you want it but cant afford it we will give it to you. personal service comes above all else for us.
Q. Can an announcer line splits also be linked into the runners results?
A. absolutely i.e. they cross at 6 miles we can set the system so that split is in their results or in an excel export directly for you the race director.
Q. Do I need an announcer line, can I link the monitor up to a finish screen and read them out
A. Yes of course we can accommodate that.
Feedback from the Race
Keith Herrington / Race Director
What a fantastic team Seasons Best are, sorted the entry system this year (much simpler) and also an announcer line so I could call out the finishers on the PA 
.
Highly recommend to any event organisers, superb job – next year already booked! (12th October 2025) 