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The Los Angeles Marathon began in 1986, attracting 10,688 registrants. It has since become the fourth-largest marathon in the country, with 12,000 race day volunteers required to support more than 20,000 participants. Since 1986, the LA Marathon has raised over 27 million dollars for charities. It's a massive logistics undertaking (requiring among other things, the closure of 12 freeway on-ramps, 4,053 city barricades, 40,000 no parking signs, 55,000 gallons of water, 9,500 gallons of Gatorade®, and 2,500 trash cans). Over one-half million people watch the televised coverage of this marathon, the 7th largest in the world.

For these large races, organizers have extensive logistics to coordinate and welcome new technology that facilitates smoother race operation. They want simple setup, quick clean up, and as few suppliers to manage as possible. And the most critical logistical aspect of any race is the accurate course timing of all participants.

A common race timing method uses a plastic-encased, low-frequency tag. These tags are manufactured independently of other race identification materials such as bib numbers, requiring extensive pre-race effort to match each timing tag to the entrant's information. To read tags, cumbersome mats must be placed at timing locations, and runners funneled over them. An alternative involves creating read zones by erecting structures with antennas mounted overhead. Race participants must travel under these read zones wearing tags specifically angled away from the body to support consistent reads.