A few months ago Coach Pimm was interviewed by Canadian Running columnist, Madeleine Cummings for an article in which she discussed the lack of certified courses.
Seems she had to prove fitness in order to be selected for a relay team and the coach was only accepting performances done on certified routes.
In case you missed Madeleine's article, it's posted here, and also included is an example/proof of the accuracy of the Google Earth tool.