Nation's Fastest Courses

Not to be too nit-picky, but point-to-point and/or downhill ('aided') courses, i.e., Pittsburgh Great Race 10K, shouldn't count for PR ratification purposes.

I agree with what you are saying. I'm just curious what some of the super-fast courses are. Some of those listed are definitely eligible for record purposes, like the Philly Distance Run, for example.

A friend of mine who used to live near Carlsbad said the course is not that fast. However, it does attract the world's best and competitive road 5k's are not as common as the longer distances. Therefore some of the best times are run there.

10K: Crescent City Classic in New Orleans. The course records at Beach to Beacon in Maine are getting very fast but the course is somewhat hilly.

15K: I've run Allegheny and it is very fast but starts on a mountain and goes downhill all the way except for a speedbump at the end. Utica Boilermaker has some good course records, but this is due to the level of competition there every year. The course has a few tough hills.

half marathon:

Valley of the Sun

faster than greased moose poop.

it's a flying fast course (calrsbad). there are some minor eelevation changes from start to finish but it is fast. the only hangup I would see are perhaps the railroad tracks (the race schedule is dictated by the train schedule).