Flying back from St. Louis. Thought of a puzzle that incorporates my love for running in it..

There are 4 runners in a race. How many possible outcomes can be there in that race. Be aware that there can be ties. Which means two or three or even all of them might finish the race at the same time.

To explain it further, if A B C and D are the runners, one outcome could be D came first, A and C came joint second and B came last. This would be different from D coming first , A coming second, C coming third and B coming last. Got it?

For people who is reading this on FB and not on my blog, always send me your answers by personal message. I just made this up – so I do not know the answer myself, but I have an hour of flight left to figure it out 🙂