For more information on course certification, contact the USATF Course Certification Website at http://www.rrtc.net .

WHAT IS THE USATF COURSE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM?

The USATF course certification program exists to produce road race courses that are "reasonably accurate." The idea is to produce the shortest course that we can be almost sure is at least the advertised distance. We recognize that our measurement method has a margin of error of about plus or minus ten meters per 10,000 meters, so, when establishing a course to be advertised as 10,000 meters, we aim for a distance of 10,010 meters.

The USATF course certification program is not connected to the USATF race sanctioning program; a sanctioned race can use an uncertified course and an unsanctioned race can use a certified course.

For any road-running performance to be accepted as a record it must be run on a USATF-certified course, but the certification program is important to the average road racer, as well as those of exceptional speed. Most runners like to compare performances run on different courses and such comparisons are very difficult if course distances are not known. No one can establish a personal best for a distance if courses are not accurate.

Road Running Technical Council
To get more certification information and to get the most recent list of certified courses visit the national USATF Road Running Technical Council site at http://www.rrtc.net  

USATF Distance Running Website
The USATF LDR site, http://www.usaldr.org, lists which races used certified courses and submitted results for national ranking. It also describes how to submit results from your race.