Are you a race director, or planning a road race? Runners want to know they are covering the advertised distance e.g.: 10k, 13.1. Certifying your course is the only way to guarantee the distance is exactly what you advertised, and your course can be a qualifier for other races. A course certification is good for 10 years, provided there are no changes in the race course route during this time. To get your course USATF-certified, contact us via email here or call 706-495-8188.
From the USA Track & Field site: The certification program is very important to the average road racer, as well as those of exceptional speed. Most runners like to compare performances run on different courses, and such comparisons are difficult if course distances are not reliable. No one can truly establish a personal best if the course distance is not accurate. For any road running performance to be accepted as a record or be nationally ranked, it must be run on a USATF-certified course.
USATF/RRTC Position on GPS used by runners
Effective June 6, 2014
GPS devices work by receiving signals from satellites. The quality of different GPS units can vary, but all of them can be affected by conditions such as buildings in urban environments or heavy overhead tree cover that interfere with reception of the satellite signals and can cause them to be inaccurate.
Race courses Certified by USATF are measured by a proven method that incorporates the calibration of measuring devices against a steel tape and are verified by multiple measurements.
Race courses are measured along a well-defined path called the “SPR”—the Shortest Possible Route that a runner can possibly run. Most runners don’t actually run the SPR, so the distance recorded by their GPS device will usually be longer than the certified length of the course, even though the course was properly measured along the SPR according to USATF rules.
Courses we have certified
From the USA Track & Field site: The certification program is very important to the average road racer, as well as those of exceptional speed. Most runners like to compare performances run on different courses, and such comparisons are difficult if course distances are not reliable. No one can truly establish a personal best if the course distance is not accurate. For any road running performance to be accepted as a record or be nationally ranked, it must be run on a USATF-certified course.
USATF/RRTC Position on GPS used by runners
Effective June 6, 2014
GPS devices work by receiving signals from satellites. The quality of different GPS units can vary, but all of them can be affected by conditions such as buildings in urban environments or heavy overhead tree cover that interfere with reception of the satellite signals and can cause them to be inaccurate.
Race courses Certified by USATF are measured by a proven method that incorporates the calibration of measuring devices against a steel tape and are verified by multiple measurements.
Race courses are measured along a well-defined path called the “SPR”—the Shortest Possible Route that a runner can possibly run. Most runners don’t actually run the SPR, so the distance recorded by their GPS device will usually be longer than the certified length of the course, even though the course was properly measured along the SPR according to USATF rules.
Courses we have certified
Click to set custom HTML