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Reply to "Measuring Track portion of a 5km Course"

I believe that many modern tracks are constructed with temporary curbs. Sockets are set on the inner line, and when track meets are held, a big pile of aluminum segments are plugged into the sockets and voila! a curb!

This makes football more safe, as off-field tumbles by players do not land the athletes on a curb.

If you see sockets, it can be presumed that the track was laid out with a 30 cm offset. As David says, whether this was actually done is open to question.

David is dead right about potential problems. I've measured several tracks and have yet to find an owner who can produce a certificate of accuracy generated by the original track measurer.

Our method of verifying the accuracy of a track is pitiful compared to what should be done by the people who construct and measure the track.

Last time I looked at the IAAF site, I recall that a full-dress verification of accuracy for a top-of-the-line track costs in the neighborhood of $25000.
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