Winning 10km male and female to receive return flights to New York

Two weeks after the dust settles from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit will open its doors for a completely different kind of race – the ADNIC Yas Run – and the organisers have revealed that the community run has now officially received international certification for its 10km course from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).

Hugh Jones, executive secretary of AIMS, recently flew to Abu Dhabi where he carried out the official measurement of the route around the F1 track at Yas Marina Circuit.

“Having ridden around the entire course, the ADNIC Yas Run looks a great route for runners of all abilities,” he said. “The spectacle of being able to run on the F1 track in the early evening will be a magnificent backdrop to what is set to be a very exciting run and which I foresee attracting many international runners.”

Taking place on the evening of 26th November, the ADNIC Yas Run offers competitors the unique opportunity to savour the atmosphere of a floodlit Yas Marina Circuit whilst battling it out for the first prize, the chance to join runners from around the globe at the eighth annual UAE Healthy Kidney 10K held in Central Park, New York.

Registration is now open for the ADNIC Yas Run 2011. There are 400 free places for the 1km and 3km races, which are allocated on a first come first served basis by calling 800 YAS (927). Participants for the 10km and Team Relay can register at www.adnicyasrun.ae where they can also access training programmes and sponsorship forms.

Hugh Jones speaks to Abu Dhabi Week...

How important is it for the route to be officially certified?
There is no point in giving a time to runners for an indeterminate or approximate distance. Runners' results are given in distance run within a defined time, both being equally important elements in describing the runner's achievement.  An internationally certified course provides runners with the opportunity to challenge themselves over a course that they know is 10km. It gives them confidence that the course they have run is accurate and their result reliable.

How do you measure the route?
By the "calibrated bicycle method", using a "Jones counter". It is in principle a very simple, direct technique to measure distance, but requires careful application and constant double-checking to get it right. In outline:

• Fix a Jones Counter to the front wheel of a bicycle (most current models record 23.63 "counts" per revoution of the wheel)
• Calibrate the bike  by riding a straight, measured (with a steel tape) "calibration" course or base line of known length. Repeat four times before and after the measurement to obtain a reliable average "constant" by which elapsed counts are converted into metres.
• Cycle the course according to the "shortest possible route". This means taking tangents from the crown of one bend to another and hugging the kerb (0.3m away) at corners.
• Distances along the route are are recorded by noting the number of "counts" elapsed at specific landmarks and calculating the distance that this represents. These landmarks can then be used to locate split kilometre positions.
• Calculations will confirm the overall distance measured, within a margin of error of +/- 0.1%. 0.1% is added to be 100% confident that the distance run is "not less than" that advertised for the race.
• Any adjustment required is added in after the initial measurement to make the course up to (or, in very rare instances, reduce down to) the advertised distance. This can be done either by measuring again with the calibrated bicycle or by using a steel tape measure.

How does the ADNIC Yas Run route compare to other international courses?
The ADNIC Yas Run course unlike many other runs around the world has the advantage of not having to close any public roads to ensure runners' safety. It also has many additional features that other runs do not have such as grandstands for spectators, large screens showing the runners on course plus a fully-equipped medical centre on site. The course has a great surface to run on with the F1 track being very new, and the opportunity to run under floodlights adds a dramatic touch.