Race distances - fact or fiction?

[Frosty]

Hi Hubbers!

 

So another weekend of races have come and gone (I just got back from DBN), and once again the distances that the organizers advertise vs. our respective GPS devices are not equal. My questions are:

 

1. Are they lying? No

2. Why would they lie? Don't know

3. Who is using something other than Garmin, TomTom, Strava Android & Apple? (Maybe the organizers use those  ) Garmin Connect, ridewithgps.com, Strava, Historical data, Ride the route, drive the route, use one of those measuring wheel thingys to mark out the final 1Km (500m, 250m).

4. Have the organizers noticed that we always complain about this? Yes

 

I did a race once (MTB) which was 5km more than advertised. No one complained!! 

 

Please, Hubbers, share your knowledge and experience! I call out geraldm24 for the first comment! Sorry bud, I was in bed long before you posted this   

[candz1]

only problem I have is when the distance is 5km or more shorter than it was meant to be cos then I worry that ive missed a marker and a loop around. Dont mind if its longer.

[GaryvdM]

I assume that it is a case of they don't know how to use technology to get to the correct distance, or they disorganised and don't get it done rather than a case of bad faith.

 

 

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

-- Robert J Hanlon

[Hackster]

Ja, this happened to me.

 

I pushed myself to the limit to reach the finish line in good position, only to find the finish line not there.

 

I might have cried a little at that point.

 

I rode six extra kilometres a broken man.

 

Lesson learnt, these days I don't give it my all until/unless I'm dead sure where the route ends.

[RocknRolla]

To remedy this problem, I suggest you ride without a device measuring and indicating distance. You can then ask fellow riders or the people at the water tables, and the answer will always be "not far" or "almost there"

 

 

Problem solved.

 

The only time this could possible remotely be a problem if you type your work-out goal into Training Peaks, as being the advertised race distance, and then end up short thus not achieving your training goal....

[Suidwes Boytjie]

For me i ALWAYS take there (referring to the race organizers) set distances AND elevations as an estimation...

I really don't care when the distance and elevation is more (only shows that i'm one mean mountain biker. Hehehe)

BUT i really get pissed off when the race ends up shorter than originally advertised. 

Feels like its a waste of time and money when it ends up shorter.

 

But once again at the end of the day... YOU GET TO RIDE YOUR BIKE ON SOME PRETTY AWESOME PLACES!!! 

[RocknRolla]

My head is always disappointed with less elevation gain, but my legs are always grateful...They are constantly saying "shut-up mind" then my mind says "shut up legs" soon it becomes unbearable in my mind, and we leave....

[GLuvsMtb]

I remember a few years back running a 2 oceans half marathon. Now a half marathon is 21.1 km right? Not in a race like 2 oceans. I ran about 1 km more according to my GPS data. How you may ask?

1. I started unseeded, so add 300m from where I started to the actual start line.

2. it was so congested that I weaved from side to side to get through the traffic.

3. the shortest line is not always the flattest line. Sometimes we go the long way around as to not break rhythm.

 

Unless you are taking part in an Olympic type event over a said distance, the distance markers are there as an indicator, and even if you take part in an olympic type event or the likes of Ironman, etc. there are other factors influencing stuff like actual distance opposed to measured distance.

[rock]

take the computer off your bike and enjoy the scenery.

[Skinnyone]

Guys don't forget that this reliance on GPS is at fault as well - GPS measurements can vary by as much as 20m or so - this is generally done by the owners of the GPS satellites, one of the reasons is to hopefully prevent an exact strike on a target by a terrorist... 

 

So Mr Race organizer goes and rides the route and gets a distance of 60km that he now advertises as a 60km race. Now you come along and do his "60km race" and get a reading of 65km or 55km or whatever. I can almost guarantee that if you ride exactly the same route a week later you will get a slightly different reading again... 

[Sparki 1]

i also had some gripe over this in some of my previous races. the best way to measure is to actually use an old fashioned cycle computer (actual rolling distance above gps devices). there are some flaws to using this method for eg actual path/line etc...but, if the computer is set up correctly ie rider weight compressed wheel measurement, magnet positioning blah blah blah, this method works best. either method has its percentage error tho'.

The organizers should at least indicate which method of measurement was used so that all participating in the event can preset their minds as to how much discrepancy they would like to add to the advertised distance. I started asking the organizers if they use rolling distance or gps. when they say gps, i found it to always to be out, sometimes more than 15%. some organizers also informed me that they round off to the nearest 5km/10km. ie..if the race is 63km/67, they advertise it as being 65/70km.

 

I stopped asking, i now just assume the distance to be 10-15% longer and pace myself as such.

[Boerklong]

Oh my... how can Google Earth be wrong? This could be the problem. Surely they draw it in without riding the route.

[Ed-Zulu]

It's quite easy for the distances to be "underquoted" and i will explain....

 

1. Route is decided by the fastest, meanest MOFO on a MTB you will ever know...FACT!

 

2. The organizers then tell him to go "map the course"

 

3. Faster than lightning MOFO on MTB does just that, BUT

 

He goes so fast that his wheels barely touch the ground and the 50km loop end up being 45km's

 

True story

[Ed-Zulu]

...and, did you see the vulture with his head up a swine's ass?

[Patchelicious]

They lie because they hate us and they want to make our lives hell.

 

These organiser wake up every morning and think, "hmmmm how can I ruin these darn cyclists that pay my salary lives today". They meet at Starbucks every morning at 9am and think about new ways to project their mommy issues onto us over their skinny lattes whilst admiring each others top knots.

 

Think about this... maybe it was YOU who made the distance calculation mistake and not them....

 

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3077669/keanu-reeves-whoa.jpg

[EmptyB]