In the early hours of the morning, when the residents of Guangzhou were wandering in their dreams, Yan Juntao, an international B-level measurer from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), appeared on the streets. With a bicycle, a Jones counter, a bottle of mineral water, and a reflective vest, he measured the length of the Guangzhou Marathon course repeatedly and carefully. By the time all the work was completed, the eastern sky had already turned pale. From 2015 to the present, this is already the third time that Yan Juntao has measured the course for the Guangzhou Marathon, as always, with professionalism and precision.

Different levels of events require different levels of measurers. For example, the IAAF's standard events are divided into ordinary, elite, gold-label, and platinum-label events. Platinum-label events, as well as top-level events such as the Olympic Games and World Championships, must be measured by A-level measurers. If a race track is measured by both an A-level measurer and a B-level measurer, the world record produced on it can be immediately recognized by the IAAF without review.

In recent years, the number of marathon events in China has surged, increasing from 22 in 2011 to 1,828 in 2019. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number declined and gradually recovered in 2023. As of the end of November, there have been a total of 576 races held nationwide, with 309 races certified by the IAAF (297 A-level races and 12 B-level races). The rapid growth of events has created a growing demand for measurers, but the reality is that the number of existing measurers in China is even rarer than giant pandas.

Yan Juntao revealed that an excellent surveyor should not only have good physical fitness, computational ability, and cycling skills, but also have very good English speaking, listening, reading, and writing competence in order to successfully complete tasks such as assessments, reports, and communication with officials.

Yan introduced that it takes about 10 days to measure a marathon course from the early preparation work to the final completion. Taking the Guangzhou Marathon as an example, after the organizing committee applied to the Chinese Athletics Association to host the race, they provided Yan with a rough route map of the course. "The committee will tell me the changes of route this year. I will first use online maps to view the course and make a rough measurement online to ensure that there is not too much error compared with the actual measurement. In addition, I also need to analyze the rationality of the course, including the road width, the number of turns, the location of the narrowest route, and the setting of functional points. Only after completing these tasks will I start the measurement."

In addition, measuring a marathon course requires both physical strength and experience. To measure a marathon course, a measurer needs to ride at least 50 kilometers. If there is a full marathon plus a half marathon like in the Guangzhou Marathon, the total distance to be ridden is over 70 kilometers. After the measurement, the measurer also needs to write an English report to describe each point, introduce the measurement process and draw diagrams. Finally, a report of over twenty pages will be submitted to the IAAF for review and evaluation. Upon approval, the IAAF issues a certified measurement certificate, and only then can the certification work for a course be completed.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

比大熊猫数量还稀少的丈量员，你跑过的广州马拉松由他认证

凌晨时分，当这座晚睡城市的居民纷纷进入梦乡，世界田联国际B级丈量员闫俊涛出现在广州的街道上，一辆自行车，一个琼斯计数器，一瓶矿泉水，一件反光背心，车轮滚滚向前，他在反复、仔细地丈量着广州马拉松赛的赛道长度。当所有工作完成之时，东方已经亮起了鱼肚白。从2015年至今，这已经是闫俊涛第三次为广马丈量赛道，一如既往的专业、精准。

不同级别的赛事需要不同级别的丈量员去测量。比如世界田联的标牌赛事分为普通、精英、金标和白金标牌赛事，其中白金标牌赛事以及奥运会、世锦赛这样的顶级赛事都必须由A级丈量员去测量。如果一场比赛它的赛道被一名A级丈量员和一名B级丈量员一起丈量过，那么它所产生的世界纪录可以立即被世界田联承认，无需复核。

近年来，中国马拉松赛事呈井喷态势，从2011年的22场急剧增长为2019年的1828场，其后受新冠疫情影响数量出现下滑，2023年逐渐恢复，截至11月底，全国办赛达到576场，其中田径协会认证的赛事有309场（A类赛事297场，B类赛事12场）。赛事急剧增长，对丈量员的需求也变得越来越大，但现实却是国内现有的丈量员数量比大熊猫还要稀少。

闫俊涛透露，一名优秀的丈量员不光要有良好的体能、计算能力、骑行技巧，还要具备非常好的英语说、听、读、写能力，才能很好地完成考核、报告、官员对接等任务。

闫俊涛介绍，丈量一条马拉松赛道，从前期准备工作到最终完成需要10天左右。以广马为例，广马组委会在向中国田协申请办赛后，会向闫俊涛提供今年大致的路线图，“组委会会告诉我今年的变化在哪里，我先用网上地图看轨迹，进行线上粗量，保证真正丈量时不会有太大的误差，另外还要对路线的合理性进行分析，包括路宽、转弯的次数、最窄路线的位置、功能点设置进行评估，这些工作做完了，才会到现场开始丈量。”

此外，丈量不光需要体力，更需要经验。一个马拉松赛道丈量下来，丈量员至少需要骑行50公里，如果像广马一样有全马加半马赛道，骑行总量达到70公里以上。丈量结束后，丈量员还需要撰写英文报告，对每个点位进行描述，介绍丈量过程以及绘图，最后出具一份二十多页的报告交给世界田联，后者审核、评估后，出一份世界田联认证的丈量证书，一个赛道的认证工作才算完成。

文 | 记者 苏荇
译 | 白心怡 
责编 | 王楠
校对 | 周勇