Runners want certified courses

Posted on 06/13/2007 at 05:17:14 PM by David Patt

Doug Kurtis rightly demands USATF-certified courses in his June 6 column at RunMichigan.com.  Course certification is a very important, and very inexpensive, part of road race planning for an event of any distance.

A USATF-certified course is guaranteed to be the distance advertised by the race.  That cannot be assured by any other means - including walking the course yourself with a Jones Counter.

Even if your event does not typically attract top competitors, the fastest age group runner in your state may show up on race day to set a record.  Finishing times will only be eligible for records if set on a USATF-certified course.

Certifying your course also tells runners that you know and care about runner needs.

So, contact your local USATF organization to certify your course (it's not the same as an insurance sanction) or to get instructions explaining how you can certify it yourself.  It's a very small price to pay for a very important piece of event credibility.

Posted in Course issues
2 Comments
Posted Jun 20, 2007 5:35 PM by MarCheese
I totally dissagree in the fact that only a very small percentage of competitive runners are concerned about a certified course. Ive been directing a race for 24 years and I can count on one hand the number of inquiries if the course was certified or notand we have had in excess of 1000 participants. In most instances these same runners are looking for appearance or prize money and not there to enjoy the comrodorie of the vast majority.
Posted Jul 03, 2007 5:40 PM by QcyRunner
I concur with MarCheese. I have asked in feedback surveys over the years if my paticipants would like to see our course certified. I have yet to get such a request. Given that we have many hills and obstacles, a world record won't be set on our course. I have seen a couple area events go out and certify their courses the first year, only to change the course after first year due to identifying logistical improvements and for these events, the amount of money spent on the certification pushed them into the red when all was said and done. I would never go as far as to say a course shouldn't be certified. It all depends on the type of course and the goals of the event. I do disagree with a flat out 'all courses should be certified if they care.....' statement.

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