! ! ! ! 2009 DII Cross Country ! ! ! !

former d1er wrote:

You start on a flat 1 mile loop

You then go down a big hill to a back loop

You run two loops around the back which starts by going up a huge hill and has rolling hills for the rest

You then go up the big hill that you went down to get to the back loop

You run maybe 800 meters of flat

My advice get your position before the first mile because it is fairly hard to pass on the back loop. Don't go out too hard though because the hills will make you suffer. You can pass people who go out to fast because they will be falling fast.

If it is muddy good luck because it becomes a swamp and it is hard to keep your feet.

Does that help

haha thats not even accurate dumb*ss.

heres the link to the course map from the nationals website

That is what it was in the past. Looks like it has changed.

Bump

The course is not an easy one and can be described as gently rolling. The women’s course is two loops. The first kilometer will be quick as it drops in elevation. A short gradual 300 meter climb follows before descending to its lowest point at the 2k point. The runners will then come face to face with Shoe Tree Hill. Having run this hill myself, I can tell you it hurts. The hill rises sharply for 100 meters leaving legs a bit numb. It continues to climb till the 3k mark. The second loop is identical to the first with Shoe Tree hill coming right before the finish.

The men’s course consists of a 3k loop, 4k loop followed by a 3k loop. The 3k loop is the same as the women’s 3k loop. The 4k loop is the 3k loop with a 1k added to the 2nd loop. This extra 1k could be considered the toughest part of this whole course for within it is a 200 meter climb up Strue Hill followed by a 400 meter descent. The runners will then come to Shoe Tree Hill.

Good description, although "gently rolling", may be a touch misleading. Save for the 4 major climbs (and 3 minor ones), the course will run pretty fast. The course is in fantastic shape today, and with no more than a little light rain in the forecast, it should be no different.

Safe travels to all. We will see you in a few days!

MH

keep is updated on the course conditions please!

You know Western Washington beat Alaska Anchorage at Conference and Regionals right? We placed 10th last year...

Easy man, that prediction was made back in August.

WWU, you guys and gals kick ass, can't wait to see the results Saturday and best of luck!!

WWU doesn't have a prayer in Indiana. The magic 8 ball told me so. Tomsich will run the first 1500m in a PB and school record 3:45. While this bodes well for the upcoming track season, his race falls apart just before 2k. Welling will take over the lead at that point and hold the lead through 3k like he did at regional last year (over Scott Bauhs). But like regionals last year they will have to restart the race due to the lead biker going the wrong way... Welling, not happy about having another 16k day, jogs the re-run in protest. To make matters worse, Kubitz is going to get food poisoning and WWU will try and pull a good ol' Kelso switcher-o and have Keever run in his place. Unfortunately Keever fell off the train a few years ago after hitting a few too many barriers. Medhaug was looking good for a solid race until he got lost in Galbraith this past Sunday and accidentally ran 25 miles. He was only planning on going 22. The extra three miles will be his downfall. Yonas will be too tired to race to his potential after having to drive across the country after getting rehired by BGO and working late on Thursday, not being able to fly to Indiana with the team. Grimey does manage to have a stellar day though, finishing 1st overall, becoming part of the first ever father-son combo to win the NCAA D2 XC championships. At least that is what the magic 8 ball told me.

Ha ha nice! You left out Brill.

Bob Waters...that brings back memories. Bring back the dodgeball team!

Bob Waters doesn't approve of Brill's moustache. He probably wasn't going to dignify his entry into the race because of it. Either that or the urb cougar ate Brill this past weekend on their long run. She too doesn't like Brill's moustache.

You're an idiot.

NEXT!

quote]I fight for Kirwa wrote:

For the record, in regards to braun's 13:36 5k and Kirwa's 28:36.

Kirwa's 28:36 is equivelant to a 5k is 13:35

http://myweb.lmu.edu/jmureika/track/Mercier/window7.html

Check it yourself.

Just thought I should throw that out there since everyone is praising brauns 13:36 and meds 13:40 for the title when the course is 10k and braun is a 1500, 5k runner.[/quote]

You're an idiot.

NEXT!

I fight for Kirwa wrote:

For the record, in regards to braun's 13:36 5k and Kirwa's 28:36.

Kirwa's 28:36 is equivelant to a 5k is 13:35

http://myweb.lmu.edu/jmureika/track/Mercier/window7.html

Check it yourself.

Just thought I should throw that out there since everyone is praising brauns 13:36 and meds 13:40 for the title when the course is 10k and braun is a 1500, 5k runner.

Yeah and my 1:52 800 is equivalent to a 14:12 5k but that doesn't mean I had a chance in hell of running it.

Yeah i hear Chico are the partying national champions. Word on the street is they were playing jenga while drinking beers after outdoor nationals- those guys are so f*cking cool!

The D2 Cross blogger has his picks posted over at:

http://d2cross.blogspot.com/

I like the fact that he is underestimating Mines, but I'm confused as to why. He mentions that Grand Valley, Chico and Western Wash all lack a crucial 5th man. Mines has 6 guys who have shown they can contribute to the top 5...

Zywicki (AA in cross, national DMR Champ)

Swift (beaten Zywicki 3/5 times this year)

McClain (Arguably best kick in all of D2, National DMR Champ, RMAC Mile Champ)

Hatleback (Consistent top 5 guy)

Curtis (Closing the gap in every race towards front runners after being injured during the summer)

Gildea (Consistent top 4 guy)

Yet he has mines at 8th and behind all of those other teams. I guess we'll see how it shakes out.

And we all know that Ruben Sanca is Ballin, but he's not on the team and there is no reason to believe that UMass Lowell will finish 5th.

TFG wrote:

I fight for Kirwa wrote:

For the record, in regards to braun's 13:36 5k and Kirwa's 28:36.

Kirwa's 28:36 is equivelant to a 5k is 13:35

http://myweb.lmu.edu/jmureika/track/Mercier/window7.html

Check it yourself.

Just thought I should throw that out there since everyone is praising brauns 13:36 and meds 13:40 for the title when the course is 10k and braun is a 1500, 5k runner.

Yeah and my 1:52 800 is equivalent to a 14:12 5k but that doesn't mean I had a chance in hell of running it.

So what is your point? That because Kirwa ran 28:36 it doesnt mean he can run 13:35. Hmmm well of course it doesnt mean he can run it. If you understand the context instead of blabbing about your 1:52 you would have understood that I made that statement because people think Braun will win Nats because he won a few titles in the 1500 and ran 13:36 when Kirwa's time in the 10k is worth more and they are running a 10k at nats so Kirwa MAY have a better chance then Braun. But no keep blabbing about your 1:52

Not that I would consider one sentence "blabbing", but thank you I believe I shall!

I didn't mean to sound like an ass, and I don't know if Braun has run a track 10k (can anyone verify this for me), but the fact that he is the 2008 XC runner up and has run a 13:36 5k puts him as a better option for first in most peoples' minds. Giving what someones equivalent time is doesn't constitute a very good argument for why one should be ranked higher.

And since you mentioned my 800 pr more than I did I will say thank you for allowing me to reminisce on times when I was actually in shape.

My god. No love for Kirwa because he hasn't run a time trial 5k at Mt. Sac? Look at Mt. Sac from last year. About 10 D2 guys all broke 14:00. What happened at nationals? Kirwa kicked all of their asses. Even the guys who were fresh. He is an absolute stud and will be in it until the bitter end on Saturday, and will probably win.