RunningAHEAD - Topic: A 10k that wasn't a 10k

kamalamak

posted: 6/8/2008 at 2:34 AM

I just did a '10k' race this morning. It was only my 2nd 10k attempt so I was aiming for sub-1 hr and I barely made it. However when measuring the distance through google earth, the distance was 12km! I checked with a couple of other runners on a local forum and they also said that the race couldn't have been 10km. It's so disheartening. Now what should I log the race as? A 10km or a 12km? Or should I just subtract off the minutes it took for me to run those 2 extra km?

CanadianMeg

#RunEveryDay

posted: 6/8/2008 at 4:08 AM

That's frustrating! I'm not sure how you capture that on your log.

Half Fanatic #9292.

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jeffreyvollum

posted: 6/8/2008 at 7:00 AM

IMHO, I would log the distance that the course measures. If it was actually 12km, that's what I would log, and make a note for future reference. Don't sell yourself short - you ran it, log it. Oh... and I would also notify the race officials of the issue.

"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" - Steven Wright

Mulks

posted: 6/8/2008 at 7:04 AM

Well one good thing is that you accomplished your sub-1 hour goal, and at a longer distance! Big grin

Nice job. As for the logging issue, I personally would log it as its actual distance and maybe make a note. After all, you did run the distance. Frustrating none the less.

- Tony

backstretch

posted: 6/8/2008 at 8:35 AM

Something is'nt correct that's for sure. Did you notice you were running ALOT faster than any of your training times. I know a race brings out the best in a runner but you were hoping to go sub 1hr. Which is a 5:59 pace, you ran at least a 4:59 pace to go sub 1hr for 12k. That is a big difference in expectations. If you thought you were flying log it as 12km if you think you were just a little quicker than training consider the race distance accurate. Either way good job to go sub 1hr in only your second attempt and if it is sub 1hr for 12km, WOW I tip my hat to you congratulations.

"The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling." - Lucretius

Lane

posted: 6/8/2008 at 9:28 AM
modified: 6/8/2008 at 9:29 AM

Quote from backstretch on 6/8/2008 at 8:35 AM:

Something is'nt correct that's for sure. Did you notice you were running ALOT faster than any of your training times. I know a race brings out the best in a runner but you were hoping to go sub 1hr. Which is a 5:59 pace, you ran at least a 4:59 pace to go sub 1hr for 12k. That is a big difference in expectations. If you thought you were flying log it as 12km if you think you were just a little quicker than training consider the race distance accurate. Either way good job to go sub 1hr in only your second attempt and if it is sub 1hr for 12km, WOW I tip my hat to you congratulations.

I think that your paces are off. I believe that 1 hour for a 10k is 9:40 pace and 1 hour for 12k is 8:03 pace. That seems reasonable to me, since he's done a 9+k tempo run in the 8 minute range.

Ennay

A Saucy Wench

posted: 6/8/2008 at 9:36 AM

Quote from Lane on 6/8/2008 at 9:28 AM:

I think that your paces are off. I believe that 1 hour for a 10k is 9:40 pace and 1 hour for 12k is 8:03 pace. That seems reasonable to me, since he's done a 9+k tempo run in the 8 minute range.

He was talking per k pace. I've had that happen - when a race is that far off I measure it a few times with google, and then log what I measure. Notify the RD, sometimes when that happens they will remeasure and give you a new official measurement. Congrats on an awesome 12K!!!!

I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

zoom-zoom

rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 6/8/2008 at 10:45 AM

Quote from Ennay on 6/8/2008 at 9:36 AM:

I've had that happen - when a race is that far off I measure it a few times with google, and then log what I measure. Notify the RD, sometimes when that happens they will remeasure and give you a new official measurement. Congrats on an awesome 12K!!!!

1/1 I ran a popular 6 miler...that was mis-marked on an out-and-back and the race ended up being 4.45. The race timing company sent postcards to all runners explaining the goof and detailing correct mileage and pace. No one was too upset...the weather was brutal, particularly on that out-and-back stretch.

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

Lane

posted: 6/8/2008 at 11:52 AM
modified: 6/8/2008 at 11:53 AM

Quote from Ennay on 6/8/2008 at 9:36 AM:

He was talking per k pace.

Now I feel dumb. Thanks for the explanation.

AKTrail

posted: 6/8/2008 at 4:12 PM
modified: 6/8/2008 at 5:47 PM

I generally only do trail races, and their distances are at best approximate - maybe even considering them as a "class" rather than an actual distance. If I ran with a gps that had good reception, I'll log it as that distance. Trails don't show on many aerial images or aren't accurate on many maps, so it's always somewhat of a question. PS: I might add that since trail routes are distinctive from each other, each race course is treated uniquely, so we don't worry about 10k PR's or whatever. It's for a particular course.

"So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog

cewickbe

posted: 6/9/2008 at 12:26 AM

I had this happen to me in my second 5K. Turns out, the stupid guy on the bike that was guiding the people in the front of the pack went the wrong way on the course and everyone followed. I got soooo pissed (not knowing what was going) at my time, i wound up giving up towards the end of the course and walked the rest of it in, thinking i was jsut toally sucking at running that day. some lady towards the finish line congratulated me for the being the first "walker" in and i totally lost it and snapped at her that "I WASNT A WALKER!" since it was before my garmin days, i went out in the car after the race and followed the same route i ran and realized i had run 3.7 miles instead. This was only 1 of the many mistakes the race organization made, so i swore off running their race next year, despite of the cause it supports. sorry!

kamalamak

posted: 6/9/2008 at 1:38 AM

Thanks everybody for the replies. It's very frustrating when organizers don't state the real distance of the race. I figured they just put it as 10km just to make it a 'standard' race. I contacted the RD and he confirmed with me that the distance was exactly 11.6km. So that means I was racing at 5:04 pace. First time I raced at that pace w/o feeling like hell when I cross the mat. I think I'll just let this matter slide and just log it as a 10k PR. Big grin

Mandy Simpson

posted: 6/9/2008 at 4:56 AM

Quote from kamalamak on 6/9/2008 at 1:38 AM:

I think I'll just let this matter slide and just log it as a 10k PR.

surely now you know its 11.6km it would make more sense to log it as that?

A 10k that wasn't a 10k (Read 892 times)