HOW MUCH OFF-ROAD SURFACE IS PERMITTED BEFORE A RACE IS MULTI-TERRAIN?
- Road Races up to 10k - 10% off-road allowed
- Road Races over 10k - maximum off-road allowed is 1km plus 5% of the amount by which the race distance exceeds 10km
- 5k - 0.5 km
- 10k - 1 km
- 10 miles - 1.3 km
- Half marathon - 1.6 km
- 20 miles - 2.1 km
- Marathon - 2.6 km
A firm off-road surface such as smooth grass or dirt can be measured with an accuracy of about 1% using a calibration done on a road surface. At a meeting of the Course Measurement Working Party held in 2000, the following guidelines were agreed for the maximum amount of such off road surface which could be used and still retain the overall accuracy of measurement of a road race:
For a number of popular race distances this gives the following amounts of off- road surface:
For races which exceed the above amounts of off-road surface it may be impossible to issue a certificate of course accuracy. These races should therefore be classed as multi-terrain on the permit application form. In Dec 2011, the Course Measurement Working Party decided to commence an investigation of the measurement surfaces intermediate between a sealed road surface and an off road trail, in order to see if an approporiate guarantee of distance could be provided as an alternative to having non-road races classified as multi-terrain. See our new webpage: OFF ROAD
Download Dene Townend's pdf which contains a flowchart for deciding whether a course should have a certificate of course accuracy for a road race, a statement of measurement for multiterrain race, or a registered distance for courses with a significant amount of unsealed gravel or similar.
