Summary of findings

IHSA State Final Cross-Country Course

Detweiller Park- Peoria, Illinois

The IHSA State Final Cross-Country Meet course was measured on July 19 and 20, 2008. The course was measured along its current and historical configurations using a number of different methods, and following two different guidelines regarding the line to be measured.

The alignments measured were:

· 1972-2002 historical configuration

· 2003-2004 historical configuration

· 2005-2007 current configuration

The methods used were:

· Steel measuring tape

· Calibrated bicycle

· Measuring wheel

· GPS

The lines measured were:

· USATF (and NCAA) line (shortest possible route)

· NFHS line (center of course)

The routes were determined by personal recollection, interviews with individuals involved with the events, review of videotape, and study of aerial photographs.

Table 1: Measurement Results

Conclusions:

· The 2007 and 2002 courses are approximately the same length. The error inherent in the measurement methods and the reconstruction of the historical courses is probably greater than the measured difference between the courses. Given the relatively small difference between the results and the inherent difficulty in reconstructing a course that was run as many as 35 years ago it is impossible to say that one course was longer or shorter than the other.

· The current and historical courses, when measured over the shortest possible route (or USATF line), are shorter than 3.000 miles by about 0.024 miles, or about 7 seconds for someone running near record pace.

· On the other hand, the fact that the courses measured longer than three miles on the NFHS line does not mean that the courses are longer than three miles. It most likely means that we assumed a wider path width than the IHSA used to define the course. There is a legitimate route around both the new and the historical courses that, when measured in accordance with NFHS rules, is exactly three miles. Under the rules of the NFHS the IHSA is correct in representing the course as 3.0 miles.A course width of about 12 feet would explain the differences between the NFHS and USATF lines.

· Of the various measurement methods, the steel tape is the most accurate, within 5 feet over three miles. The calibrated bicycle is reasonably accurate, especially when calibrated over a surface similar to the running surface. The measuring wheel generally produces a result short of the actual length of the course. Although an un-calibrated wheel is not accurate enough for record keeping, the numerous coaches who have measured the course over the shortest possible route using a measuring wheel and have concluded that it is short of 3.000 miles have been correct. GPS results vary based on the speed of the unit during measurement and is generally not accurate enough to measure a competitive race course.