China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Keeping an eye on the track of events
In April, the Association of UK Course Measurers declared that from 2013 to 2015 the course for the Greater Manchester Marathon in the United Kingdom had been 380 meters short, and the times of the 24,000 runners would be invalidated.
Although it’s well-known that a full marathon course is 42.195 km long, how do organizers ensure that the length of each race conforms to the regulations and avoid the error that blighted events in Manchester?
Zhao Pu, one of just three B-Class marathon measurers from the Chinese mainland accredited by the InternationalAssociation of Athletics Federations, has measured more than 100 marathon courses.
The 43-year-old said the equipment he uses isn’t sophisticated, consisting as it does of a bicycle and a Jones Counter, a simple geared device that counts the revolutions of a bicycle wheel.
Before a course is measured, the counter is calibrated for a distance of 300 meters against a series of markers of various lengths laid down with a steel rule or a measuring tape along the route.
The number of revolutions equal to that distance is calculated, and then the rest of the course is laid out accordingly.
“People might think the work is a bit boring, but I find it interesting. By measuring the course, you get to know a city in a unique fashion,” Zhao said.
The speed at which he covers the course is irrelevant — the entire process usually takes an experienced measurer three to four hours.
The measurer pretends that he or she is a runner, and takes the shortest possible route so that the distance the athletes cover during real competitions is no less than 42.195 km.
Zhao said he is lucky because the very first measurement program in which he participated was for the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which had a team of five measurers.
By measuring and calibrating the distance and introducing the route to the athletes, he covered the course nine times.
“I remember that the 5 kilometer mark was in the Temple of Heaven and the halfway mark was at the Baishiqiao overpass. The memories are fresh every time I pass those places.”