Totally off-topic, but in the videos posted, does anybody else think Lex and Leo never look "fast"? Like, if I didn't know who they were and you showed me a video of their race and told me they're the fastest runners in the country, I would say no way.
I guess it's running style or an optical illusion or something, but they just never look as optically fast as, say, the Sahlmans or even their older brother. Like "I could hang with them" (I most definitely could not hang with them). I guess it's one of those Moneyball/faulty eyeball test things. Or maybe it's just me, IDK.
I think they look so easy because they are both efficient biomechanically, without a lot of wasted motion. Something I notice about them and most other great runners is how well their foot plant is directly under the center of gravity. They make 4:30 pace look easy (because it is for them) and that is optically hard to see on video.
Lex made almost breaking GF’s course record look easy. even after he crossed the line. GF ran amazing but looked like (and probably was) going all out, and fell to the ground after breaking the tape. Just saying.
If Leo is really weak minded, your theory makes sense. Would you have quit if you were ever in that situation?
He didn't quit, he slowed down. Would I slow down if I knew I wouldn't get a course record that I had wanted to get since last season and knew I wouldn't PR either? If I was Leo, maybe. Especially since it didn't cost Newbury Park any team points. Leo is also thinking about bigger things like winning NXN and competing in the world cross country championships.
Me personally I would push for the state title since I wouldn't be good enough to win NXN. But Leo is on a whole different level than the rest of us so sometimes he's going to think differently.
But would you push that hard for a state title (probably not a big deal for him) if you knew you were against your twin brother ? He went for a historical course record and Lex and Leo probably don’t care who gets first and who gets second as long as they are one and two, so I don’t see why Leo would see any reason to give his all to run 14:30 instead of 14:38 knowing he won’t even be close to his personal record (14:25) or to the course record he was aiming for, and knowing it won’t change anything for the team score and that his brother is the only one who will be ahead of him anyway.
The asphalt section of the course is a little less than a quarter mile and they do it twice, honestly that's not a ridiculous amount. If it was more than a mile I think there'd be reason to complain.
It looks like more than a 1/2 mile but I’m not going to argue if you know the course. You would know better than I would.
Every time I see footage of a California xc race there are road sections and long stretches of compacted dirt. It’s no wonder that the times are so fast. TBH, I don’t believe that XC courses should include pavement at all, except for occasional road crossings, and I find it difficult to believe that there isn’t somewhere in SoCal that is better suited for a real XC course that is mostly contested on grass and without road and compacted dirt/trails.
Unfortunately, I think "choosing a course that upholds the purity of cross country" is about 1,323 on the list of things taken into account when hosting a meet.
Lex made almost breaking GF’s course record look easy. even after he crossed the line. GF ran amazing but looked like (and probably was) going all out, and fell to the ground after breaking the tape. Just saying.
💯
The record books should add a 'looked relaxed' column next to the finishing time and appoint you as the judge.
Lex made almost breaking GF’s course record look easy. even after he crossed the line. GF ran amazing but looked like (and probably was) going all out, and fell to the ground after breaking the tape. Just saying.
2015 and 2016: Casey Clinger: 7th NCAA XC. 13:23, we will see where he ends up.
2014: Grant Fisher: American record holder…
…seems like a pretty good list
I think he was talking about just CA, so only one of your listed runners is even applicable.
Edit: I was mistaken above.
And with that said, it's still it's way too early to cite all of those runners as actually having staying power. Only Fisher now has had continued success at the top top level. The rest? Strong, but only Hocker has won an American title and the rest are NCAA guys.
He didn't quit, he slowed down. Would I slow down if I knew I wouldn't get a course record that I had wanted to get since last season and knew I wouldn't PR either? If I was Leo, maybe. Especially since it didn't cost Newbury Park any team points. Leo is also thinking about bigger things like winning NXN and competing in the world cross country championships.
Me personally I would push for the state title since I wouldn't be good enough to win NXN. But Leo is on a whole different level than the rest of us so sometimes he's going to think differently.
But would you push that hard for a state title (probably not a big deal for him) if you knew you were against your twin brother ? He went for a historical course record and Lex and Leo probably don’t care who gets first and who gets second as long as they are one and two, so I don’t see why Leo would see any reason to give his all to run 14:30 instead of 14:38 knowing he won’t even be close to his personal record (14:25) or to the course record he was aiming for, and knowing it won’t change anything for the team score and that his brother is the only one who will be ahead of him anyway.
Who knows but Leo sure had a look of distress on his face, much more so than his brother. Looks like he just wasn't feeling it.
Lex made almost breaking GF’s course record look easy. even after he crossed the line. GF ran amazing but looked like (and probably was) going all out, and fell to the ground after breaking the tape. Just saying.
What's the speed rating for both?
202 and 209 respectively because “woodward park is running faster”
Dang. I'm from California and hadn't quite realized how much of this is a road race. I guess you do what you have to, if you're going to have a course that can accommodate a large field, but sheesh.
I raced this course in 1996 and it had the same asphalt section then. Footlocker had West Regionals at Woodward back then, moved to Mt Sac in 1998. This is definitely not an easy road race. It's a legit cross country course that briefly runs on asphalt.
The asphalt section of the course is a little less than a quarter mile and they do it twice, honestly that's not a ridiculous amount. If it was more than a mile I think there'd be reason to complain.
It looks like more than a 1/2 mile but I’m not going to argue if you know the course. You would know better than I would.
Every time I see footage of a California xc race there are road sections and long stretches of compacted dirt. It’s no wonder that the times are so fast. TBH, I don’t believe that XC courses should include pavement at all, except for occasional road crossings, and I find it difficult to believe that there isn’t somewhere in SoCal that is better suited for a real XC course that is mostly contested on grass and without road and compacted dirt/trails.
Why is grass more "real cross country" than dirt? I live in arid SoCal on the edge of town, and a typical run for me is out the door, over the dirt hills to the edge of the next town and back. I can run the 5 miles over the hill faster than drive in a car all the way around. Biggest danger is maybe spraining an ankle or getting bit by a snake, but that seems like more like real cross country than a golf course. Especially some muddy golf course. Muddy cross country courses are just stupid. They should only be used for zombie fun runs. Sometimes the weather surprises you, but holding a national championship at a place every year where the weather history means the course is going to be suitable only for a fun run most years (like NXN) is dumb. How about we alternate? Once is Portland, then once in a desert in Nevada, then once in humid Texas? Let's have some diversity.
From the video, it looks like both Youngs are wearing Vaporflies and yet they STILL could not touch German’s course record. German is still the GOAT of CA cross country.
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