Running technology
Who Actually Runs Your Marathon Tracking App? Chicago, NYC, Boston, Berlin and London Compared
Every major marathon's tracking app is free, and most are built by the same few companies. Here is who makes each one, what it shows, and the web trackers that work when the app doesn't.
Chicago is Sunday, and tens of thousands of runners will have someone refreshing an app to see where they are. The app has a bank's name on it, it's built by an Indian IT firm, and the race's results and web tracking run on a German timing company's platform.
That split is normal. Race tracking has three layers: the timing company that reads the chip in your bib at each mat, the platform that turns those reads into splits and predictions, and the branded app the race puts in the store. The majors mostly mix the same few suppliers.
The majors
Scroll horizontally for all columns.
| Race | App | Built by | Web tracker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Bank of America Chicago Marathon App | Tata Consultancy Services | results.chicagomarathon.com, Mika Timing |
| New York | New York Road Runners app | Listed by NYRR; package name suggests TCS | liveresults.nyrr.org, appears to run on RTRT.me |
| Boston | B.A.A. Racing App | Dilltree, the company behind RTRT.me | Not mentioned on baa.org |
| Berlin | BMW Berlin-Marathon 2026 | Mika Timing | berlin.r.mikatiming.com |
| London | Official London Marathon app | TCS | results.tcslondonmarathon.com, Mika Timing |
All five apps are free to download.
Chicago's Google Play listing promises "unlimited live race day runner tracking," plus the live broadcast, weather, a course map and bib sharing. The spectator page points fans to it.
New York dropped its separate TCS-branded marathon app in 2025 and folded tracking into the year-round NYRR app. Its store listing lists live runner tracking, alerts, leaderboards and course maps.
Boston went the other way. Its app was built by TCS until 2024; the current B.A.A. Racing App comes from Dilltree, which also makes RTRT.me. The B.A.A. describes it as "your source for participant tracking" with checkpoint alerts on its spectator page.
Berlin's app is built by Mika Timing itself: live tracking of runners and skaters, up to 25 favourites, push notifications and a map that routes you to a chosen point on the course.
London's FAQ says the official app, "powered by TCS," goes live about ten days before race day. Its web tracker lists each followed runner's last split and predicted finish.
Bookmark the web tracker
Three of the five majors run a browser tracker on the same Mika Timing results site that hosts final results. It doesn't need a download, it works on a laptop at home, and it's the fallback when an app buckles on race morning, which has happened: several 2025 reviews of the NYRR app describe race-day failures.
Smaller races use the same tools off the shelf
Most marathons can't commission their own app. Two platforms cover a lot of them:
RTRT.me tracks runners from timing-mat reads, with optional GPS, and offers a web tracker, live map and email or push alerts. The company says it has tracked more than 6,200 events and 24.8 million finishers. Its general app is free.
RaceJoy, which describes itself as a RunSignup product sold through certified timers, uses the runner's phone GPS instead of mats. Both runner and spectator need the app, and the runner has to carry their phone. In return you get alerts at every mile with pace and projected finish, and you can send audio cheers.
If a race's tracking page names one of these, you already know how it works. If it names neither and says only "results," expect splits after the fact, not live tracking.
Our race guides show the official tracking link during race week, starting with the Chicago guide.