April 25, 2010 Need a little extra cash? Why not help certify a race course? For the active runner, the opportunity to run two races in one weekend takes place next week. On Saturday, May 1, the May Day 5K Scholarship Run will be held here in San Marcos. The race starts at Hernandez Intermediate School out in Willow Creek. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and the race starts at 8:00 a.m. There are awards for the top 3 places in age groups up to over 60 years as well as Overall Champion awards. This is an out-and-back course that tends to run uphill on the way out but has a great downhill slope on the way back. The run heads out Stagecoach Road and is a nice scenic run. The cost for early registration is only $15 and day of race the cost is $20. Check the San Marcos Runners Club web site for more detailed information and online registration. On Sunday, May 2nd, the Front Porch Days 5K & Kids K race will be held in Kyle in the Plum Creek subdivision. The race starts at the front of the Negley Elementary School and heads out through the community and along the golf course. This race started out as a small local race for the community, but has now been certified and is looking to expand the number of runners. The course seems relatively flat with a couple of deceiving gradual uphill climbs thrown in for a little challenge. The race starts at 7:00 a.m. and is part of the Front Porch Days celebration. There is also lots of music and events throughout the day for runners to enjoy after the run. The course starts and finishes in front of the school. One of the things that runners look for in a race is that the course is somewhat accurate in the advertised distance. Even a race listed as a “fun run” will draw criticism from runners if it is short or even a little long. To have a course certified as being accurate, the race organizers need to get someone to measure the distance with special counters mounted on bikes that have been calibrated on a certified calibration course. It is a fairly complicated task that in most cases needs to be done by someone that is familiar with the procedures. In the Central Texas area there is one person in Austin, two in San Antonio and two here in San Marcos. The certifying persons are listed on the USATF web page for someone in your area. Is it necessary to have a course certified? Not really. For most local events interested in raising some money for an organization or charity in that community, certification is not required. The primary reason for certification is that, if by chance a record is set in the race, then it can only count if the course was certified. In some instances, in order to get insurance coverage, some companies want the distance certified. Other than that, if the distance is close to being the listed advertised distance, runners are satisfied since most of them will not be running a record-setting time. If anyone is interested in becoming a person that measures race courses, let me know and I can try to arrange a training session some weekend. The training takes approximately one day, and there is an initial investment necessary to do this. The first thing needed is a Jones/Oerth counter that attaches to the front wheel of a bike. This counter comes in a couple of styles and costs roughly $80. A few miscellaneous items are required, such as a thermometer, a steel 100-foot tape, some nails, tin tops or small washers and a can of spray paint. And, of course, the person needs a bike to ride. The thermometer takes the temperature of the pavement you will be riding on; the steel tape is used to measure your mile marks from permanent landmarks; the nails and tin tops mark the mile marks; and it helps to paint that spot for easy finding by the people that set up the course on the morning of the race. One other small item needed is a handheld calculator, as there is a little math involved in converting the counts from the calibration of the bike to miles and kilometers. And a little expertise in riding a straight line is good, since the person has to measure the distance twice and come within .08% on the two measurements. The math part divides the difference between the counts from the two measurements, and the resulting difference has to be less than .0008. The upside to all of this is that you can charge a fee for performing this service. There is no set standard; but for a 5K measurement you can charge anywhere from $150 to $250 for doing the certification. The longer the distance, the more a person can charge for the cost for the measurement. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!