Congratulations on a very fast marathon ride! I suppose the first
question from a record-keeping organization would be "who measured and
certified the course distance?" Apparently our Marathon at Unicon XIV
was not the standard 42.195 km (26 miles, 385 yards). I hadn't heard
this before today. Too bad the start or finish position could not have
been adjusted to make it the exact distance. Not to detract from the
event, it was a huge undertaking and very well organized. I really
enjoyed riding in it.
ThisGuyIKnow said:John Foss will probably have a better answer, but I don't think world
records are kept in the marathon category because the course is not
standardized.
I don't have marathon numbers. We've only done it once at Unicon (if 43
km counts), and most other records are probably from Japan, where
they've been doing it for 20 years or more.
As for standardization, I think the way it's handled in Olympic and
other versions is that people are aware of the differences of one race
to another. Most running courses are probably pretty flat, but other
factors are heat, humidity and elevation. I remember elevation being a
big deal at the Mexico City Olympics as it was much higher than usual.
In Switzerland we had some hills, some dirt road, and wonderful
weather. Future courses, and the one along the Sumida River in Tokyo,
for example, are probably smoother and flatter. We can keep track of
times, but of course we must keep track of distances as well...
Quoted message said:I remember back at Unicon X they didn't even keep time on the muni race
since the course would never be repeated.
No matter, as the race data there were so inaccurate the hosts were
apparently too embarrassed to ever share a copy with us. We have no
official race data from Unicon X, other than a paper copy that Jack
Halpern has.
In keeping with ThisGuy's point, yes a MUni race course is generally
unique, so times are less important than places. Times are handy
though, to clear up discrepancies in times, so it is highly recommended
to record them.
Quoted message said:I don't know what the IUFs rules on records are though.
The IUF established a World Records Committee a few years ago, but then
I think everybody got distracted. I don't think there are any official
policies yet.
For records, there is always room for national vs. international, world
vs. Unicon and other distinctions for any given event. And age, for
those willing to keep track. For records set outside of unicycle
competitions, conditions probably need to be stricter to make sure the
timing and course measuring were done properly. Hence my question
above. Was it part of a sanctioned marathon race?
Anyway, Christopher's time is outrageously fast. What was he riding?
--
johnfoss
John Foss
Email: "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------
"pretty much every trail that we've done on the California or Moab Muni
weekends is an XC trail." -- Kris Holm, on XC from a North Shore point
of view
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