Big Sky winner 21:28 for 8K

this is awesome. I think the course was legit.

After watching the mens race and running the course, I'm pretty sure they used the wrong wheel to measure the course. It was 8000 yards not meters!!! Oopsy... only 800 yards short of 5 miles.

talked to the ewu coach...about ~315 meters short after the course was measured this morning...so add about a minute to everyones times

more like 3150 meters short.

NOBODY CARES ABOUT CROSS COUNTRY TIMES!!

The course was at least 800m-900m short.

Compared it to 2001 Big Sky race on same course. The weather was better that day and Henrick Ahnstrom NAU won in 24:56 Travis Laird NAU 24:57, Jeremy Tolman WEBER 25:10 and Bruno Mazzotta NAU 25:17.

Ahnstrom would have placed 53rd this year.

I suppose you could argue that those guys were really slow except for the fact that all 3 NAU guys were AA in the top-30 at NCAA's that year.

It's a good course. It just got shortened a half mile. Add 2:30-3min. and everything makes sense.

If the coach at EWU told you it was 300m short, either you are a liar or he is.

Peace Out

No, the distance was correct, but the course had a very large elevation loss and swirling tailwinds. The top racers used POSE and ran barefoot while eating ugali. The slowest runners were eaten by bears.

XC is XC and times don't matter right. So no big deal... Not really. If you are running a course that is 700 meters off it may give a pretty big advantage to a team that knows how short it is. For an NCAA Division I Conference Championship Meet this is a pretty lousy.

Look I am telling you that the course is legit. When you mix hard training with good competition and decent conditions, you have a recipe for fast times.

There are quite a few haters on this thread.

McNeil was in the shape of his life and will challeng the 10000 WR later this spring.

Dude... come on... that's just ridiculous--- I absolutely believe those runners are gifted and ran fast, but near WR 10k pace? WAY better than Stanford and co.? There's just no way... in high school I ran a 14:42 on a "certified" course... I was a 16:00 runner... I'd love to claim that PR, but I just can't/won't. Not a hater-- just really curious about that course.

Its cross country, who cares about times? Every course is different, some have huge hills, some have none. Some are long, some are short. Some are on grass, others on pavement, and still others on trails, golf courses, or fields. Some are muddy and others are rock hard.

Times in cross country mean nothing. Anyone who claims an 8k or 10k pr from cross country is likely quoting a pr from a course that was short.

I know at least 5 different guys who all say their 8k prs are 25:00 low or under. None have ever broke 26:00 on the roads and most have track prs of 15:00-15:20 for 5k. Perhaps coincidence, but I think all are from the south or west.

who cares if it's certified... what I wanna know is

Was it RUPP certified?

Not so fast... wrote:

Look I am telling you that the course is legit. When you mix hard training with good competition and decent conditions, you have a recipe for fast times.

There are quite a few haters on this thread.

McNeil was in the shape of his life and will challeng the 10000 WR later this spring.

2/10 see now you just took it to far your first one was good though you got a lot of people.

Not so fast... wrote:

Look I am telling you that the course is legit. When you mix hard training with good competition and decent conditions, you have a recipe for fast times.

There are quite a few haters on this thread.

McNeil was in the shape of his life and will challeng the 10000 WR later this spring.

2/10 see now you just took it to far your first one was good though you got a lot of people.

ra ra ra... wrote:

because you know the exact distance you jog, right? thats a nice ability.

You say that as if it is not possible.

My buds and I used to measure all kinds of courses using bike or car odometers and then run each course many dozens of times. This was before the days of the Garmin.

After a few years of this we all got very good at knowing nearly exactly the distance of any new course just by jogging it. We were never off by more than .05 miles on any course under 10 miles. It really isn't that difficult - we could all do it.

So, my guess is that most folks could well develop this ability if they just worked on it a bit. Not saying that it is worth working on. Just that it is quite possible.

The best part is the guy who finished last and ran a 26:45 on that course, what does that mean he really runs.....31-32 8k. On a D1 team and in top 7.

Finally ! Americans are running African times - the future is looking bright !!!!

hahahaha good one. If we can't beat them, cut the course by 1,000 meters and call it "legit"

I AM Fleetfoot wrote:

Finally ! Americans are running African times - the future is looking bright !!!!

Except that McNeil is Australian.