Walt Disney World Marathon Dopey Challenge 2015 Week 8 Training: I Learned Something New

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FH000019Happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone had a great long weekend.  This past week was actually a nice recovery week after the 1/2 last weekend.  You can read about that here: 
Walt Disney World Marathon Dopey Challenge 2015 Week 7 Training- Hottest Half Race Recap and Thoughts

One of my criticisms of the race was the length, which measured by my GPS was 13.5 miles.  It surprised me because it was a USATF certified course.  Here is what I learned, from my friend Jimmy:

SPR

SPR stands for Shortest Possible Route.  Which is, as its name, implies, the measured shortest distance we can run.  Which, (according the USATF website USATF/RRTC Position on GPS used by runners)

Most runners don’t actually run the SPR, so the distance recorded by their GPS device will usually be longer than the certified length of the course, even though the course was properly measured along the SPR according to USATF rules.

So the next time your wondering where in the world the finish line is, you probably did not run the SPR.  Have a great day!

Here is my schedule for this week: