The obsession with course measurements is silly. Even if the course is slightly off, you're still running the same course as the people you are competing against. The only way it could be unfair is if some people are running farther than others. Maybe this guy would be running faster than "just under 1:44" if he stopped worrying about time and started worrying about beating people.
Bear of Bad News wrote:
The obsession with course measurements is silly. Even if the course is slightly off, you're still running the same course as the people you are competing against.
I never understand this point. Very few people in road races are racing against each other, they are running for time. They don't care if they are 180th or 190th or 310th, they just want to try and run as fast of a time as possible. Therefore it is important for them to know the course is accurate. Seems pretty logical to me and the fact that everyone else in the race is running the same distance is irrelevant.
I should add that actually most of the people doing road races nowadays don't really care about time or place, they are just trying to finish and help out a charity. But there are still more people that care about their time than care about their place.
Bear of Bad News wrote:
The obsession with course measurements is silly. Even if the course is slightly off, you're still running the same course as the people you are competing against. .
The thing is, most people are running these races for a time, not a place. So a long course sucks for them. As a runner, an accurate course is the first thing I want
Not defending the complete idiot who is suing, of course.
It is inherent in road races and cross country as another thread here asks that course distances are not exact. Times on cross country and road race courses can vary because of weather, hills, and tight turns. If you want to run the fastest time for a distance you can and know its the exact distance you want, go to the track. Otherwise understand that distances and times will vary slightly from course to course and just compete against the people around you.
It is inherent in cross country but not so much in road races. That's why we have USATF course certification in the first place. So we can know to within a good degree of accuracy how long the course is.
Most people in your standard road race dont care about the people around them. If they know somoen personally thats different but most of the time, the people around you are just faces in the crowd. Seriously, what difference does it make if you finish 178th or 177th? They are trying to run FAST. In a certified race one might make allowances for the terrain but not for the distance. If they enter a certified marathon they want it to be within certification-level accuracy of 26 miles 385 yards.
That said, if you have a certified map and the course is set up right and the Garmin says it's wrong, then turn off the damn garmin, its margin for error is much bigger.
time trialist wrote:
Seriously, what difference does it make if you finish 178th or 177th?
It matters to me.
There you have it. GPSs are for neurotic losers. Just run and have fun. I hate people who record their logs to the 1/100ths of a mile. Just run.