Cost of Measurement

Since 90% of my work is for the same race organizer and in my home town I don't have to do any work dealing with the City officials, so my rate is only for measuring the course. My normal fee for a 5km to a 15km course is $350, $50 of which goes to a person who makes the course map for me. On the occasion when I have had to meet with City officials I simply bill at the rate of $50/hr. That hourly rate also applies to adjustments to the course after it's been measured and set to its correct distance. I have a course now that I measured last month but now the organizers are looking at making a minor change, for that work I bill by the hour.
Of course when somebody wants to measure a course themselves I get a deposit on the Jones Counter that I loan them, and any face to face meeting or email and phone assistance, is no charge.

Lee Barrett

I have all my rates posted on my Website. I show rates for common distance. I also would charge for consultation beyond simple feedback, but I normally put the responsibility on the Race Director, as they are the ones permitting the course. I don't have time to take on that aspect, so I don't offer it.

It is up to you to decide how much your time is worth, and what your market will bear. I have been told I charge too little, especially for what I deliver. But, I am efficient, so it takes me about 5 - 6 hours, total, to do a 5k. Longer courses are more-efficient, so I do all right.

Damn, I have been working way too cheap - I need to move to Colorado or Oregon (better beer & wine)!
Lee, do you charge the same for a 5km and a 15km? Three times the riding/split calculation.

Jim, I had been charging what Dave Poppers did, so the rate has been close to this for over 10 years. I just raised them this year, about 10% across the board. I figure that with the digital maps, photos of each split location, GPS tracks, and a link to the MapMyRun map, I was delivering more than Dave used to.

I am also told by some back east, that I don't charge enough. Is there that much competition in your neighborhood that you can't raise rates? Or, do you make enough from the timing/management portion, that the measuring is more of an incentive for them to use you? Just curious.

I have also been told that Oklahoma rates are lower. Maybe that's why there are so many courses certified there. I would be interested to know what the rates are in Oklahoma for a 5k, and for a marathon. Heck, I'd charge more there, since it is humid and miserable so much of the time!

Duane, I'm working in CT, land of penurious Yankees. Maybe Pete Volkmar can correct me, but it seems most RDs don't really see the value in paying more than a hundred bucks or so for something they see as "intangible." Part of this might be a holdover from the days when courses were measured by a car odometer, all the runners knew it and didn't care if the distance was accurate - after all, it was the course and the competition, not the distance, they compared themselves to.

I generally charge $40.00 per measured kilometer with a $300.00 minimum.
This proves to be a break for multiple distance races with significant common routes. A Marathon & Half Marathon where most of the Half is also part of the Marathon doesn't add a lot to the cost of having both distances certified. In those cases I usually add something for the extra splits.
In Ohio my prices are higher than others and I don't get caught up in competitive pricing. If someone wants to measure a 10k for $150.00 they can have the job. When quoting my price I do include my years of experience as being of value.

In most cases, I charge $300 for a 5K. Charge less if a true out-and-back course. Typical charge for a 10K is $500. For a Marathon/Half-Marathon combination my charge would be in the range of $2000-$2500.

Does anyone take into account the location of the course? i.e., if it's in the next town do you charge less than if it's across the state?

I charge according to location. i.e. I charge my flat fee for the distance of the course + mileage + other expenses including hotel and food depending on the scope of the work.

Driving across the Great State of Texas for a measurement could be a 2 or 3 day project.

Duane,
Your chart for charges looks like you get less for a 5-miler with a spur than the same 5-miler without a spur.

I also like your idea of a surcharge for winter measurements. Sadly, it's too late for me to apply that rule, since I'm on the road to the south in the winter these days.

I prefer America's Running Routes, from the USATF web page over Map my Run. There are too many advertisements on Map my Run, and they just get in the way. I recommend it to RDs as a tool for them to layout a course. I insist on a map or detailed course description prior to taking a trip to the measurement. I use ARR to check the course layout before I leave and always advise the RD if the course is not correct so that additional trips (cost) can be avoided. For me, additional trips get in the way of my scheduling. I'd rather avoid them instead of adding charges, if I can.

Jim, I agree with you. I've got to up my rates. Although that could be a challenge. There are some old New Englanders up here that really know how to pinch a penny.

I do quote costs "within an hour of my home," with an adder for distances over an hour, but it's more like an additional $25/hr. With gas going up that's sure to change next year.

A few years ago, I spent most of a summer measuring a marathon/half combo where the RD wanted both courses to start and finish to be the same for both courses, without a spur. I got within 16 ft., and finally told the RD to start both at the longer distance. I didn't make a nickle on that one. This spring, the new RD for the same two courses asked me to measure a new layout with the same start/finish conditions. I asked if they were putting a spur somewhere on the course. He said, "absolutely not." I replied, "find somebody else to measure the courses." I'm still not so old that I cannot learn. ;^)

Ron

My pay scale is a little different-
I only measure courses for the following:
1. my own events (administered by my company)
2. events for the New York Road Runners (retainer)
3. events for our Federation (USATF) or the IAAF - no charge.

Ron - my 5 mile without a spur is $415, and with a spur is $450.

Have not used the ARR on USATF recently, but I like the MMR, as it is editable after it has been saved. I don't have ads to worry about, as I paid the small fee to remove them. Business expense, you know! I can also print maps from there, if needed.

Dough Thurston and I had a discussion about the cost of measuring marathons one chilly Saturday morning (New Orleans).
After the chat my wife 'encouraged' me to stop charging a flat $150/5K section and charge by the kilometer.
Each kilometer of a course under 10K on a major roadway (yellow roads on Gmap Pedometer, Google Maps, etc.), or a course over 10K, is charged the base price/kilometer. A course under 10k on a secondary road is charged half the base price. I do the maps digitally and provide the RD a "GPS v. Jones" information sheet (other topic). If the RD wants to measure it themself (I have one here locally who has a Jones but doesn't like doing the paperwork) all I'm doing is the map/paperwork I charge $30/hour.