Since I am first I will be extra super gentle because I'll wager those who come after will not be. Deal with it. If you really need to know what you would have done add in the time for you average bike pace and use that. It is hard to get a bike course with the exact distance unless there is a built in out and back.

There is nothing magical about 70.3, you'll survive this traumatic event.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

How many 70.3 have you done that actually measure 70.3? They usually don't include t1 and t2 so that is variable as well.


From my perspective I look at it and say what is the real purpose of the PR anyway. The course, the conditions, the competition they all matter a great deal. You can always try to cherry pick an event to achieve that "PR" but that doesn't mean it was truly your best performance. I agree that it is always nice to have a measured course that is accurate, with that being said, the vast majority of people use GPS. Exactly how accurate is GPS, what would the distance be if you actually measured it with one of those roller sticks? Even the way you ride can affect the distance and little bits start to add up. If it was me, I wouldn't feel cheated one bit. In fact, if a RD has to do little complicated distance grabs to make the distance exact then I often think the athletes safety is jeopardized as a result.

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I would get over it and not worry about it. It is next to impossible to get an exact bike course distance without silly little out and backs to make it work. Kudo's to this race director for not doing it.

Cycling is not running- comparing times between two courses is dubious at best because so many variables affect things.

Actually pretty typical to have slight variances. Even Kona has its variances and there have been LONG threads on that. Race directors are dealing with the constraints of road configurations, permission/passes, coordinating 3 events and trying to make all the pieces fit. Recently even one of the ITU world tour races which has a VERY standard distance had a long bike (they did announce that in advance) and a short run (they did not disclose this). Even your local 5/10k races have variability.

So, just relax, settle down, and enjoy that you gave a good effort!

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
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This has nothing to do with it. USAT sanctioning is for the rules and insurance. I've never seen a triathlon course distance certified. It's not like road races where you can look up the USATF certification number.

That being said, people get hung up on the distances all the time (Muskoka being short, Chattanooga being long, etc.)

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1.5 mile difference on the bike is a major screw up? Everyone at the race did the same distance so I don't see the big deal. If you're going to get upset every time you don't get the right mileage on your watch, you're going to be upset a lot.

Thank you for this reply.

This is really what I wanted to know. But how many courses are 3+ miles off? (53 vs 56?) It's interesting to know that USAT doesn't sanction courses. Strangely enough first bullet point on the BBSC site says 'USAT Sanctioned Courses'. I guess they mean races.

I'm still so surprised. Looking at the site, they list the lengths of each loop to one decimal point. Then they have a link for an interactive map. That immediately shows the 53 mile distance and contradicts the very page its linked from.

Sounds like they are 5% off. That is pretty - I would say very - common.

It's really really hard to get a bike route bang on distance. The race is what it is I don't thinks I've done any ironman that was bang on distance and I've never felt angry about it. Chill dude.

Informative, thanks. I'm still not thinking it's really that hard to be within a half mile. Soma was a bizzare set of turns and loops but ended up at 55.7. That's really close. We're used to tons of mileage that goes by quickly on a bike, but 3 miles is a huge distance.

It was evident in the race course preview that the course was short. The course was clearly advertised as adding up to 56. The interactive map shows 53 miles. This just seems dishonest.
We blast people for cutting courses and any form of drafting. We're all sensitive to our sport being kept within the rules. I think that's actually good. I'm surprised at everyone's reaction. I feel like i totally cheated saying I did a 70.3.

The reason the olympic and half bike distances were off was because of road construction. It was supposed to be completed by race time but obviously was not. You would not have wanted to ride the stripped road surface on north shore road.

Then don't say you did 70.3, say you did whatever you did or just say you did the Rage race and leaves distances out of it. Honestly being on the wrong end of race directors who add on distance-grabs for the sake of distance-grabs, it often results in added complexity and also usually results in a more dangerous bike course. If the race was a little bit long you would have people complaining the race was long, suing because they got injured because they were not prepared to go the extra .5 miles etc. Frankly I am surprised that you have gotten mostly civil responses - I expected a few people to be hurling some serious insults.

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This

There's a reason triathletes get their Type A reputation.....

Seriously, what a nut job.

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I did the half ironman course yesterday. I recorded 53 miles also and 3400 feet of elevation gain, unlike the 6-7K advertised on the website (so I'm told). Course is definitely not a PR course at all (similar although not quite as hard as Silverman), but it is "fun" as hell with constant up or down.

A while back - 2006 maybe? - i did a race that was advertised as a half iron course. it was by a company in New Jersey that did a series of races, this was their longest.
I forget the exact numbers, but it was something along the lines of, they held a shorter race with a one-loop bike route that they advertised as 23 miles. the half-iron was two loops of the exact same route that they knew full well was 46, but that they advertised as 56. so there, yeah, i call bullsh*t. so i hear what you're saying - but it's a matter of degree.

there's sort of a industry-level acceptance of mismeasured courses in triathlon. don't know what the percentage is, but it seems like it's probably a given that they're off 2-5% on the run and bike, and no one knows how much on the swim. but then there are courses that really go beyond that and just make claims that they shouldn't make.

meanwhile, for me, i'd like to see more races let the terrain set the distance. there was one small olympic-distance race that i used to do, where the bike race was a big loop with a short out-and-back at the end; followed by a run that was along a nice trail for a while then you went part way up this big hill until a random turn around point. i always thought that they shoudl have shortened the course, gotten rid of the bike-course out-and-back and the running on the hill. but then it woudln't have been olympic distance, so they didn't do it.

I did the rage half as well. Sure the shorter distance was a logistics issue. Because of the construction that wasn't completed on time on Northshore parkway they had to change the half course last minute. The revised bike map at check in showed it would be 53.

I've just designed a bike course for a local Olympic distance race coming up soon. It's a fairly complicated course through a predominantly residential area. It's a one lap out and back and the closest I could get the distance was 38.6km. There's nothing I can do other than pointlessly go up and back a little side street, which won't be happening. We're still advertising it as 40km and calling it an olympic distance.

No one cares...

rules allow 10% long or short

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