What does USATF Certified mean?

Why should I get my course certified?

A certified course assures runners that the course has been accurately measured for length according to standards set forth by United States of America Track & Field (USATF), which is the governing organization for running events. In other words, runners have a guarantee that your race course is the exact distance advertised.

​A Certified course gives your race course a mark of legitimacy and quality. When the vast majority runners race, they are competing against themselves and their previous race times in the same distance.  In order to compare times from race to race, runners can be assured that the distances are the same from race to race if the courses are certified. In addition, racers can use their results from your race to qualify for other races or for seeding in other races that require prequalification.