So this weekend I ran my marathon PR by almost 3 minutes. Finished in 2:51:24.....My GPS had 26.59 on the mileage. I've run Boston three times and the longest my GPS has given was 26.3 miles. What's my potential on an accurate 26.2-3 course?
So this weekend I ran my marathon PR by almost 3 minutes. Finished in 2:51:24.....My GPS had 26.59 on the mileage. I've run Boston three times and the longest my GPS has given was 26.3 miles. What's my potential on an accurate 26.2-3 course?
OLdLongCourse wrote:
So this weekend I ran my marathon PR by almost 3 minutes. Finished in 2:51:24.....My GPS had 26.59 on the mileage. I've run Boston three times and the longest my GPS has given was 26.3 miles. What's my potential on an accurate 26.2-3 course?
The course you ran was accurate.
You probably are unaware of how GPS works but I would say that Boston is a point to point and your GPS will probably seem more accurate on a p2p course than a course that weaves, etc. I will also say that if you think that you're going to run any race on a road and have your GPS give you the exact distance of the race you're dreaming.
OLdLongCourse wrote:
So this weekend I ran my marathon PR by almost 3 minutes. Finished in 2:51:24.....My GPS had 26.59 on the mileage. I've run Boston three times and the longest my GPS has given was 26.3 miles. What's my potential on an accurate 26.2-3 course?
2:51:24
The course measurement is more accurate than a GPS measurement. The GPS measurement will always report long since it's highly doubtful that you ran all the tangents perfectly.
Tell us which race you ran and we'll tell you if it was accurate (it almost certainly was)
I'd go with long course. Congrats on sub 2:50
2:48:24...if you didn't stink at running tangents.
Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
knower of course certification wrote:
Tell us which race you ran and we'll tell you if it was accurate (it almost certainly was)
Nvm, found it.
Baton Rouge is certified:
http://www.brbeachmarathon.com/racei-details-brbmhttps://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/images/LA11017JF.pngMake sure you understand how this stuff works:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/03/racing-line-understanding-how-courses.htmlI'm sticking with 2:51:24 as my PR but the course was long buddy. :)
OLdLongCourse wrote:
I'm sticking with 2:51:24 as my PR but the course was long buddy. :)
GPS don't lie. Did you run the tangents well?
Go run 4 laps on a high school track and tell us how far it measures on your GPS.
Looking at the course map, it would be very easy to run 26.6 miles even while feeling that you had run tangents pretty well. But, that doesn't mean that you can adjust your PR accordingly...running a little extra distance is just built in to what we mean when we talk about PRs on the roads.
The other thing is that GPS tracks are "only" precise to what - a couple percent? And your distance is just 2% longer than a marathon, which may not be different enough to even be sure that you actually did run longer than 26.2 (though like I said, based on those turns, I'm sure you did. That's just part of racing)
OLdLongCourse wrote:
I'm sticking with 2:51:24 as my PR but the course was long buddy. :)
Sorry bud, your GPS isn't precise. You ran 26.2 miles, end of story.
OLdLongCourse wrote:
So this weekend I ran my marathon PR by almost 3 minutes. Finished in 2:51:24.....My GPS had 26.59 on the mileage. I've run Boston three times and the longest my GPS has given was 26.3 miles. What's my potential on an accurate 26.2-3 course?
The course you ran was accurate. I recently ran a marathon and my GPS measured 26.7. Others measured shorter. It happens, get over it.
That course has a lot of turns. For a slightly straigher HM recently near my home, I was worried when I mapped out the course and got an overall length of 13.6 or so. Even when I tried to use straight lines as tangents instead of following the roads, I'd still get 13.4. The course seemed like it had to be a quarter mile long, which meant adding over 90 seconds to my goal time.
Then I started doing longer runs on the (USATF certified) course, and the mile markers were coming in close to 1 mile on my GPS watch. I got obsessive about finding all the tangents on the course. On race day, I knew how to run every turn so I didn't lose any distance. The distance on my Garmin watch from start to finish was 13.16 miles.
You can shorten your course and lower your times, but it doesn't happen automatically. It takes a lot of work and preparation on the course.
Speaker of Hard Truths wrote:
OLdLongCourse wrote:I'm sticking with 2:51:24 as my PR but the course was long buddy. :)
Sorry bud, your GPS isn't precise. You ran 26.2 miles, end of story.
Not really. He ran more than 26.2. A marathon is 26 miles and 385 yards - more than 26.2 miles. Certified courses are purposely measure long to ensure they at least meet the minimum distance. Also, he surely didn't run perfect tangents, so he ran longer than the certified distance. To say he ran 26.2 is erroneous.
26.3 (Ok), 26.4 (Ok), 26.5 (hmmm???), 26.59-26.60 (Long course!!!!). Either way great run with all of those turns.
Ringer Song wrote:
Speaker of Hard Truths wrote:Sorry bud, your GPS isn't precise. You ran 26.2 miles, end of story.
Not really. He ran more than 26.2. A marathon is 26 miles and 385 yards - more than 26.2 miles. Certified courses are purposely measure long to ensure they at least meet the minimum distance. Also, he surely didn't run perfect tangents, so he ran longer than the certified distance. To say he ran 26.2 is erroneous.
Yeah, they are purposely 0.1% long. Imperfect tangents maybe add another 0.1%. Big whup.
He ran 26.2 miles, his GPS is wrong, and if he tells anyone who understands how GPS works that he ran a long marathon course they will think he's an idiot.
"GPS devices work by receiving signals from satellites. The quality of different GPS units can vary, but all of them can be affected by conditions such as buildings in urban environments or heavy overhead tree cover that interfere with reception of the satellite signals and can cause them to be inaccurate.
Race courses Certified by USATF are measured by a proven method that incorporates the calibration of measuring devices against a steel tape and are verified by multiple measurements.
Race courses are measured along a well-defined path called the “SPRâ€â€”the Shortest Possible Route that a runner can possibly run. Most runners don’t actually run the SPR, so the distance recorded by their GPS device will usually be longer than the certified length of the course, even though the course was properly measured along the SPR according to USATF rules."
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