Cap City Half-Marathon

Matt,

I measured and certified the half marathon. I did not measure nor certify the 5k. I'm unaware of any certification for the 5k, but it's possible that it happened while I was in London.

The absence of a turn-around is a good indicator that the 5k is only an approximation.

Keep an eye on the USATF course search engine in a week or two. A 5k certification could conceivably be working its way to the certified course list.

I doubt it.

Back when I was racing, and before I was measuring, I had a list of things that indicated a course was short(even before I measured I knew that an inaccurate course almost always meant a short course). Others can feel free to add their own.

1) The start and finish were in convenient locations and there was no turn-around.
2) The mile splits were wrong, unless the wrongness cancelled itself out in consecutive miles.
3) There was no 3-mile split or marker in a 5k or no 6-mile split or marker in a 10k.
4) The race didn't start on time.

I also had a less-than-serious list.

1) The race director was <name deleted>.
2) Your last mile was your fastest.
3) You set a PR.
4) Most of your friends set PRs.
5) Most of your friends over 40 set PRs.
6) You ask the race director if the course is accurate and his reply is:
a) How do you mean?
b) Yes, I measured it myself.
c) Did you get a bagel?
7) During your warmup you see somebody driving the course holding a measuring wheel out the driver-side window. (actually happened)

That is hilarious. I'm glad I'm not the only runner who thinks about that. My friend and I joke that a Race Director has 2 options: either make the course 3.1 miles and have the finish line be in some bushes, or make it 3.0 miles and have it be right in the center of a parking lot.

I once e-mailed a Race Director before a race to see if the course was certified and she replied that accuracy wasn't important because it was only a "fun run".

There is another race in the Columbus, OH area that runs a 5K loop-course. Well, one year they decided to change the direction of the race (run the loop backwards). But they left the mile markers in the same spots. So the first mile marker was actually at 1.1 miles. Everyone thought they were running unusually slow at the first mile. I didn't figure out what happened until after the race.

I'm a bit disappointed in the 5K this past weekend, because it had over 1500 runners. I think a race that size deserves an accurate course. It didn't even have a Two-Mile marker.