Forums >Running 101>A Marathon of Measurements [measuring the London course]
didn't actually know that there is a mandatory "42 meters" added to all courses ... international rules state that all races must be measured one tenth of 1% long [the Short Course Prevention Factor.]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304765304577479061991721208.html
2012= under-goaled
This is true of any certified road course of any distance ~ I am not sure on Track.
didn't actually know that there is a mandatory "42 meters" added to all courses ... international rules state that all races must be measured one tenth of 1% long [the Short Course Prevention Factor.] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304765304577479061991721208.html
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
I am not sure on Track.
Yesterday, in doing the little research I did regarding a 400meter track (from another post), I found out that the circumference of the trace at the curb is 398.2meters, while the actual 400meters is calculated 0.3 meters (1 foot) from the curb. That's an extra 0.4% added to the shortest distance around the track.
Life Goals:
#1: Do what I can do
#2: Enjoy life
I've got a fever...
Ah, yes. Uncertainty is woven into the fabric of the Universe.
I like the way that the London dude summed up in two sentences what took me hundreds of words in the above link:
"There is no such thing as an exact measurement; there's always error. But the magic in it is knowing what the error is and accommodating it."
That repeat measurement being different by only 1.4m? That's a difference of about 0.003%. Wow.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
not bad for mile 25
But to me the biggest news in that article is the kinky course. Maybe that merits a separate thread.
The London course, specifically designed for the Olympics, is already gaining notoriety for having more than 90 turns, which include several hairpins. The longest straightaway is less than half a mile long. All of which makes it a nightmare to measure while trying to ride a bicycle precisely 12 inches from the inside curb.
A nightmare to run, I would think.