Measurement thread on LetsRun

The GPS debate will never die.

OldXCguy did send me his Gmaps route that came out to 6.31 miles. He didn't really follow the SPR that well, which would make a big difference because there were A LOT of turns on that particular course. I sent him some screen shots of my map to show him how we ride the SPR.

I figure he probably ran the course the same way, and that's why his GPS measurement was so far off. It's one of those courses where following the SPR puts you in the middle of road half the time.

Most races I have run are smallish, local events with hundreds of entrants. Yesterday, I ran in an event with about 2500 people. With the SPR in mind, I tried to run as smartly as possible. For seven miles, it was too crowded to run the SPR. For the remainder of the race, after the crowd thinned out, I watched many people run all over the 30 foot wide roads - almost never running the shortest route.
If some of the entrants used a GPS that is accurate only to several meters and they ran willy-nilly over the course, I'm sure that the course was "too long".