A question for race directors: How can a RD screw up the measurement of a 5k?

There are two issues here:

1) Accurately measuring a course, which I'm sure was done correctly.

2) Laying out the course on race day EXACTLY as it was measured. Somebody f'd up on race day, creating a short course.

Look up the Bastille Day 5K course from this webpage...was it run as the map is drawn?? Course looks really simple.

http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/search/

That was the course. The first and second mile markers were in different places.The second mile marker was back toward the previous turn.

I'm wondering if the start line was place too far down Jackson. The start on the map looks a lot closer to the corner of Aberdeen.

Did the race say the course is USATF certified?

I ran in a 5K race where they screwed up and had it short. Afterwards, the RD actually told us that the course was short, but "it's a warm day, so I'm sure everyone appreciated the shorter course."

I told that RD that he was wrong. I don't have a lot of money, so $20 for a race isn't easy on me. To not race the full distance means that I got nothing for my money.

Yes, you can pull a course map off the link provided by googlerific.

I remember going to one race that was in a area where many races were conducted, and they were a variety of indicators painted on the road as to where various races should start and finish and it was pretty obvious to many of us that the race director picked the wrong start but we couldn't change his mind. The 5k was off by at least ten seconds.

I cannot see going long on a measurement but race directors will very often make their 10K and under courses a little short, especially if they are aided by a slight descent.

Reason being is that they want runners to go away happy, get the word out, and return next year.

How do you do this? - By setting up your race in a fashion that allows many runners to set a PR.

If you check the running routes on http://www.usatf.org, you will see that there is a listing for the correct Bastille Day 5K AND for the short course (2.94 miles) that we ran yesterday (which, incredibly, conforms to the route that was printed up and included in the race packet). The mistake that was made, shortening the second mile by .17, was, after heading east on Jackson, to turn north one block too soon (Loomis instead of Throop) before heading back west on Adams.

That's it, thanks for the explanation.

Now, who is responsible for that?

What are you complaining about, you got a "PR"! lol

I ran a long 5k once and the race director told me, "Hey its not a race on the track, everyone had to run the same distance so who cares?"

A-hole!

Sadly, my fatass is so out of shape that I still missed my PR by 10 seconds.

So the race was actually only short by like 0.17-0.2 miles? I thought it had to be short by at least a quarter mile or so, if that's true my converted time is still a big step forward from my previous race.

Anyone else thinks they won't post the results out of sheer embarassment?

The worse part about this is you have a town full of people with false PRs. Who will be sure to brag

oh good lord Steve Chu is still at it. whatever happened to A Thought?- whoa so so old school haha. Keep up the good work! Go River Hill! Hows ur training going?

PS see this is what happens when people use their real names and not made up aliases.

Well, it really is not rocket surgery, but mistakes happen. Things that I know have happened in the past that caused courses to be short: a sheriff moved some cones; a resident moved a barricade, and a pin in the concrete was not found.

An RD should never justify a course being wrong. If it is slightly long (like very slightly long), that is okay and allowed by certification. Being short is not okay and not allowed. Sounds like some of these RD's are not runners, which causes all kinds of problems sometimes.

graduated-indian wrote:

The worse part about this is you have a town full of people with false PRs. Who will be sure to brag

So how does that change your life ??

People brag all the time about they ran this or they ran that. I used to run races against a guy who said every Wednesday his group would run a hard 10 miler at a certain pace. I knew the course, knew it was short, and never bothered to set him straight. I would just beat him every time we raced, and go on about my business.

Sorry, it's not just you specifically. I see people all the time saying "our sport is sucking, or our sport is going to hell, etc". It's not OUR sport! Running is MY sport. How or what I run makes no difference to anyone else, and their running makes no difference to me. It doesn't make me a good or bad person if I run 2 seconds faster or slower or finish ahead or behind Joe Schmoe.

My running is mine and mine alone.

Mistakes do happen during the course of racing, particularly here in Chicago. The 1992 Rogaine 5K went 3.25 miles, and had serious prize money. Why? Barricades were up at the last turn, and the lead vehicle was directed long by the cop standing there.

Having said that mistakes happen, they seem to happen more often at events run by Special Events Management (formerly Chicago Special Events Management, formerly part of CARA when CARA put on races). Short courses, non-existent awards, a general feeling that who cares about a problem "We're just going to have another race next week".

Bluntly, I don't run those events. Been burned by the experience too often. The marketplace in Chicago is too competitive - we have weekends here with 20+ races.

I look for JBA (Jim Brimm & Associates) or Lakeshore Athletic Services as the race organizers for Downtown races - both former competitive runners and put on quality events. Of course the Marathon staff events are well run, but are extremely crowded.

Or I go south to the Calumet Region Striders Gold Cup circuit events. Well run smaller races - 3-400 runners but good quality and usually a max entry fee of $20. A great race is the Fall Frolic 4 mile in November - $17 includes shirt, gloves and a very fast course.

But Special Events Management is not a favorite, so I don't participate. Period. If you want races to improve, sometimes voting with your feet works best.

fashionista wrote:

is not rocket surgery

I had no idea there were rocket surgeons. I thought mechanics worked on rockets.

I had no idea there were rocket surgeons. I thought mechanics worked on rockets.

It's a quote from "Mystery, Alaska" that I always thought was funny. You know..mixing up rocket science and brain surgery? Never mind.

graduated-indian wrote:

The worse part about this is you have a town full of people with false PRs. Who will be sure to brag

There is nothing to brag about, I was around 16 flat and wasn't even top 10. At the postrace party I overheard tons of people talking about the course being short, so even the 20-30 minute guys/gals knew what was going on when they PR'd on the 2nd "mile.

Paul, the training is going well. I found you on a facebook and will send a message shortly.