The Edmonton Half, Measured — Part 2: The Data
Several runners volunteered their raw watch files after race day. We measured every one the same way against the certified distance — no smoothing, no cherry-picking. The result was unanimous, and the interactive map below shows all three lines at once: the course as published for 2026, last year's certified course where it differed, and where runners actually ran, in 500 m segments you can step through.
Several runners, one identical pipeline, one answer
The data: what the volunteered tracks show
After race day, several runners volunteered their raw watch files for our analysis — from first-timers to national-championship contenders, on a mix of watch brands. We measured every file through one identical pipeline against the certified distance, with no smoothing. This is the rough flyover; the full working, segment by segment with every source linked, lives here.
The result was consistent and unanimous. Every single track measured long — none by less than about six hundred metres. Every track followed the published route to within a couple of metres, every runner passed within a couple of metres of the certified turnaround, and everyone turned at almost exactly half their total distance. Nobody went off course, and nobody's watch was fine. The spread between watches was small compared to the shared surplus, and the middle of the group sits right where the organisers’ own admission later landed.
The map below shows the whole story in one place: the 2026 course as published (solid green), the 2025 certified course where it differed (dashed gold — straight across the now-closed Wellington Bridge, and onward to the old turnaround), and where runners actually ran (red). Pick any 500 m segment from the pills — worst offender first — to zoom in and see that segment’s numbers:
The red line hugs the green line the whole way — runners ran the course they were given. The green line jogs up to 104 Avenue where the gold dashes go straight, and stops short where the gold dashes carry on to Buena Vista. Those two differences, less the turnaround move, are the 674.7 m.
Ran Edmonton on August 16? Add your track.
Your GPS file is one more data point toward an answer that no screenshot can give. It's measured in your own browser — the raw file never has to leave your device unless you choose to archive it — and it goes into a median, not a headline. Pick your distance:
Next: Part 3 — The Verdict: the organisers' admission, their full statement, and what runners can do now. The complete technical working — every certificate, every 500 m segment, the certification paper trail — lives at the full analysis.
Sources
- Brown Family Sports — the full technical analysis: the three courses compared at 500 m resolution, the certificates, the per-waypoint check, and every source with links.
- The race's own interactive course map (RacePoint) — the published 2026 route the green line reproduces.
- Athletics Canada certified-course register — the 2025 and 2026 certificates behind the dashed-gold overlay and the fixed points.
- Brown Family Sports — GPX intake for the Edmonton half and full: how volunteered tracks are measured, raw and noise-filtered, in the runner's own browser.