Many races — from 5ks to marathons — are, in fact, not the actual advertised distance. When planning and organizing a race, the race director may opt to settle for “close enough” or just “pretty accurate,” which may result in the race being as far off as anywhere from 50 yards to a couple miles.
Fortunately, many race directors do ensure that their course has been accurately measured and is at least the stated distance, in which case the race will be described as “USATF (U.S.A. Track and Field) certified.”
