I don't know how to deal with a race that states a courses is Certified and it's not. I hope it comes back to haunt them someday when a runner sets a record and they get caught.
As for reasons for getting a course Certified here is my response to this!
• The course will be the length you advertise it to be. Participants will be able to make comparisons of their performance in your event those in other events at the same distance.
•Even if the course itself is over an infrequently raced distance, the intermediate split points will be the right distance from the start, finish, and each other.
•While there are other ways to measure a course, the Calibrated Bicycle method has proven itself to be faster and/or more accurate than the other methods.
•The measurement and certification process requires you to document the course in a way that allows the documentation to be a resource for future years’ events.
•Any records set on a properly measured certified course will be honored by USATF, which is the organization that maintains the record book.