About the Author
impossible for the line to be painted 300mm from the curb , etc , due to the width of the painting vehicle )
• The error of GPS reading as shown above .
Tests throughout the world have found that even the most competitive runners who run the shortest possible line and start and stop their watches on the official lines , typically only get the distance on the watch to register 8m per km compared to the measured distance . So , their watches will show 10.08km on the finish line of a 10km , and in a marathon , the GPS will show a reading of 42.533km as a minimum . This is 10 times the inaccuracy of the bicycle measurement , before you even add distance from the start line
at the gun , and the remainder is probably how much you ran off the true measured line !
Any marathon with a large field that reads around 42.8km is probably correct in measured distance , so please don ’ t go appealing to officials about a long course if they say the course has been officially measured . Above 43km between start to finish lines is where there may be a measurement error . In fact , any marathon that shows on a GPS as less than 42.6km is probably short ! And for all the reasons above , it is typical for a GPS in Comrades to register over 2km longer than the measured distance ! So by all means , use the technology , but before crying foul , take the time to understand it .
About the Author
Norrie represented Scotland and Great Britain in numerous ultra-distance events , then emigrated and represented South Africa in triathlon . He is an IAAF-accredited coach and course measurer and is the official Old Mutual Virtual Coach . He has authored two books ( Everyman ’ s Guide to Distance Running and Every Beginner ’ s Guide to Walking & Running ), and counts 21 Comrades medals amongst his more than 150 ultramarathon medals . More info at www . coachnorrie . co . za .
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