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How many RIDEs and PIECEs are in a measurement report?

M mikesandfordMember
I am developing a software script to produce course measurement reports, and I want find out what is the most challenging set of data a measurer is ever likely to want to process.

Firstly I should define my terms:

RIDE: I define this as a continuous measuring ride along the shortest allowed running line with counts recorded at beginning and end, and often intermediate locations.

PIECE: is the name I have given to a portion of a ride which one needs to add to other PIECEs to make up the whole course. Perhaps someone can suggest a better name of a PIECE of a course. A PIECE may contain several intermediate points, and could be divided into shorter PIECEs, but to reduce complexity in the presentation of the overall course length I prefer not to divide up PIECEs unnecessarily.

A single measurement of a whole course consists of a number of PIECEs taken from a number of RIDEs.

A single PIECE has a PIECE STARTING LOCATION (and COUNT) and a PIECE FINISHING LOCATION (and COUNT). The PIECE when used to make up the course may be run in the direction of measuring, or in the opposite direction if that bit of course was measured backwards.

One clear way of organising a measurement report is to present the PIECEs in a PIECE SEQUENCE which is identical to the order that a runner traverses them from START to FINISH. This makes it easy for both the race director and the certifier to follow the calculation. Of course in addition to this simple presentation of the overall length, split distances and their references must be presented. Measurers may opt to present all their ride data even for references which are not needed for certification.

I sometimes find that I take several PIECEs from a single RIDE. Sometimes there are many RIDEs to deal with.

As well as PIECEs taken from RIDEs, there may be PIECEs taken from taped measurements.

In my script I can easily make provision for more than enough (thousands !) of RIDEs, but I need to decide what is the maximum number of PIECEs that need to be taken from a single RIDE. For example when I measured a marathon recently I had 2 RIDEs, and I took 3 PIECEs from one RIDE, and 2 PIECEs from the other, and then added two taped PIECEs to make up the full course.

Obviously, if there is more than one LAP the number of PIECES from a ride would be multiplied by the number of LAPs and so could be very large. However, I can introduce into the hierarchy the concept of a repeated identical LAP. So I am really seeking the largest number of PIECEs per RIDE ignoring multiple identical LAPs.

The reason I ask this is that I have to decide how to lay out the computer screen where the PIECEs will be defined by the measurer selecting from a table of the available RIDE LOCATIONs( and COUNTs). There is enough room on the screen to provide for about 5 different PIECEs from from a single RIDE. Should I try to cram in more?

So my question is:

What is the maximum number of PIECEs a measurer is likely to need to take from a single RIDE in order to put together a single set of data representing one complete measurement of the course? A different set of PIECEs will be required if it is desired to get second fully independent measurement of the length.

N.B. clarifications, shown in italics, were added on 2 March
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peteriegelpeteriegelRCMBB Founder
A marathon course, the longest I generally measure, will take me three to five days to do. That's why I don't measure them unless they are very close to Columbus. The course will generally consist of two or three rides, each encompassing ten to 15 pieces. I stop about each km or mile, at a storm drain, in line with the curbline of an intersecting road, or at other permanent roadside objects.

I have learned that if I don't establish frequent reference points along the course I will be disappointed when they want to change the course next year. The reference points allow me to measure only the new parts of the course, and marry them to the already-measured parts.
matthewstudholmematthewstudholmeCertifier
When measuring a half marathon, let alone a full marathon, I will make upto 30 marks so that if I've screwed up some where it's much easier to figure where the problem is. Stopping every half mile or so to make a mark I don't think is a big deal, particularly when it potentially saves a whole lot of hassle figuring out where a mistake has happened if one occurs.
M mikesandfordMember
I think did not explain very well what I meant by a PIECE. It is not necessarily the interval between the location of adjacent counter readings. Rather it is the consists of the longest bit of riding (passing as many intermediate reference as may be) that needs to be taken from one continuous RIDE.

Perhaps a picture helps:


COURSE A is very simple:
On the layout RIDE 1 I go from the P(rovisional)Start to the Finish and onto to the Finish Reference. En route I measure a lot of intermediate references for safety or possibly for split refs. I find I need to add distance, so I make a second layout RIDE from the P(rovisional) Start to the newly located Start.

So for the layout measurement I have two PIECEs: Prov start to Finish which comes from RIDE 1, and from Prov start to new start which comes from RIDE 2.

I then make a second complete measurement, riding from the new start to the Finish. The course length for the second complete measurement, comes from one PIECE from the one RIDE.

COURSE B is a loop marathon course run on up and down a divided road with a roundabout (traffic circle) at one end and a turning point at the other. The course has already been laid out and I only need to make one measurement. It is convenient to do two rides: From permanent reference point A, round the roundabout, and back to B. Next day with a new calibration Ride 2 goes from B to the turning point and back to A. There is a taped piece laid out by the race director from the Start/finish ref to the finish in the field beside the road. There is small calculated addition to be made to allow for the diameter of the coned turning semi-circle which will be laid out by the race director with its centre at the turning point. The measurement of the course is made from the following pieces, in the following order:

Ride 1: Start to B
Ride 2: B to turning point
Turning semicircle addition, laid out by race director on the day
Ride 2: turning point to A
Ride 1: A to start/finish ref
Start/finish ref to Finish taped by race director on the day

In this example I have to take 2 PIECEs form Ride 1, 2 PIECEs from RIDE 2, and there are two tapes pieces to be added. Of course included within the 4 PIECEs from the two RIDEs there are numerous splits taken to check the split distances and their references.

Sorry to be rather pedantic about this. I have had use the concept of a PIECE in order to automate the production of a measurement report which will cover complex situations - much more complicated than the two simple examples above.

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