Absolutely destroyed the record. She is on another level right now. That Forsyth, Shea and (maybe) Leachman matchup at Balboa will be electric if it happens. So happy for her. From near death to the fastest time in the country and the overwhelming state champion in one year. Reflects a TON of hard work she put in to get there. But it shows that recovery is possible, and an eating disorder doesn’t need to destroy your career. Here’s hoping she never sees those depths again…
according to MHSAA the girls record is 16:52 which might be in serious jeopardy with as fast as Forsyth has been running this year and also considering three of the first four races have resulted in new division records so apparently the course is running pretty fast this year.
While 16:52.1 is the Michigan state championship course record, 2 other times caught my attention on the top 10 all-time list for that course.
16:54.8 - 2009 - Megan Goethals - She won Footlocker that year.
17:00.4 - 2019 - Zofia Dudek - She won Footlocker that year.
So if Rachel Forsyth can go sub 17 on that course today, she is going to have an excellent shot at winning a national championship.
Rachel Forsyth's 16:28.5 is 26 seconds and 32 seconds faster than two other Michigan girls who won Footlocker. And that is with Forsyth running a crazy way too fast first half mile. With better pacing she could have been even faster.
The Footlocker Balboa Park course record is 16:39 by Melody Fairchild back in 1990. Could a Rachel Forsyth vs Elizabeth Leachman vs Ellie Shea race result in a new course record?
Shea is a black box because of her high school situation. She could be hurt. She could be in 16:30 shape. we just dont know until she shows up somewhere and runs. last year she didnt run until second week of October. then she went out and got second at Footlocker. the year before that she didnt run her first race until October 24. the fact that she didnt run the Mayors Cup in this year had some eyebrows raising. But I am just going to assume she is fine and will show up on the starting line of the Footlocker NE Regional and spank everybody until she actually doesnt.
Shea is a black box because of her high school situation. She could be hurt. She could be in 16:30 shape. we just dont know until she shows up somewhere and runs. last year she didnt run until second week of October. then she went out and got second at Footlocker. the year before that she didnt run her first race until October 24. the fact that she didnt run the Mayors Cup in this year had some eyebrows raising. But I am just going to assume she is fine and will show up on the starting line of the Footlocker NE Regional and spank everybody until she actually doesnt.
It would be really interesting if Ellie Shea is being the ultimate troll. Show up at the Footlocker Regional race with a brace on her knee, finish in 9th place, tell everyone how awful she feels, and then show up in San Diego and run 16:40.
The Footlocker Balboa Park course record is 16:39 by Melody Fairchild back in 1990. Could a Rachel Forsyth vs Elizabeth Leachman vs Ellie Shea race result in a new course record?
Claudia Lane won Footlocker in 2016 and 2017, the years she ran 16:45 and 16:31 on the Woodward Park course. Englehardt recently ran 16:40 on that course at the Clovis Invite, so I think she is currently the favorite at Footlocker.
The Footlocker Balboa Park course record is 16:39 by Melody Fairchild back in 1990. Could a Rachel Forsyth vs Elizabeth Leachman vs Ellie Shea race result in a new course record?
Claudia Lane won Footlocker in 2016 and 2017, the years she ran 16:45 and 16:31 on the Woodward Park course. Englehardt recently ran 16:40 on that course at the Clovis Invite, so I think she is currently the favorite at Footlocker.
Claudia Lane ran faster than Sadie Engelhardt at Woodward Park and Claudia Lane never broke 17 minutes at Footlocker. So I don't think that a slower Sadie Engelhardt is in good enough shape to break 17 minutes at Footlocker either.
Ellie Shea has already broken 17 minutes at Footlocker, and Elizabeth Leachman and Rachel Forsyth are in good enough shape to break 17 minutes at Footlocker too, if they decide to do Footlocker.
For Sadie Engelhardt to win Footlocker this year, she would need several other top girls to be injured or decide to only run NXN.
While 16:52.1 is the Michigan state championship course record, 2 other times caught my attention on the top 10 all-time list for that course.
16:54.8 - 2009 - Megan Goethals - She won Footlocker that year.
17:00.4 - 2019 - Zofia Dudek - She won Footlocker that year.
So if Rachel Forsyth can go sub 17 on that course today, she is going to have an excellent shot at winning a national championship.
Rachel Forsyth's 16:28.5 is 26 seconds and 32 seconds faster than two other Michigan girls who won Footlocker.
And that is with Forsyth running a crazy way too fast first half mile. With better pacing she could have been even faster.
It turns out that the reason Rachel Forsyth started yesterday's race so ridiculously fast is because her goal wasn't to break the 16:52 course record. Her goal was to run faster than the 16:07 she had run the week before.
Also, Forsyth said at the moment her plan is to run both NXN and Footlocker like her sister did a few years ago.
And with Elizabeth Leachman also now leaning towards running both races, it looks like we could get back to back Forsyth vs Leachman races. I'm not sure if there has ever been 2 girls that good who raced each other in both national championships.
Absolutely destroyed the record. She is on another level right now. That Forsyth, Shea and (maybe) Leachman matchup at Balboa will be electric if it happens. So happy for her. From near death to the fastest time in the country and the overwhelming state champion in one year. Reflects a TON of hard work she put in to get there. But it shows that recovery is possible, and an eating disorder doesn’t need to destroy your career. Here’s hoping she never sees those depths again…
Tullyrunners calculates the course was 15 seconds faster than normal.
Forsyth got a 161 speed rating. Dudek got a 155 when she set the old record and 169 when she won Footlocker. Forsyth needed another 24 seconds to get a 169.
That Footlocker race had four top runners pushing the pace all the way to the line versus solo runs at state champs. Dudek also had two regionals and two championships to run so no need to be all out at state champs.
The Footlocker Balboa Park course record is 16:39 by Melody Fairchild back in 1990. Could a Rachel Forsyth vs Elizabeth Leachman vs Ellie Shea race result in a new course record?
Claudia Lane won Footlocker in 2016 and 2017, the years she ran 16:45 and 16:31 on the Woodward Park course. Englehardt recently ran 16:40 on that course at the Clovis Invite, so I think she is currently the favorite at Footlocker.
Englehardt is never a favorite in cross country. Only in a Mile.
It turns out that the reason Rachel Forsyth started yesterday's race so ridiculously fast is because her goal wasn't to break the 16:52 course record. Her goal was to run faster than the 16:07 she had run the week before.
Forsyth does have a reputation for being overly aggressive in big meets. At least she did when she was younger. You may recall the last time she ran Footlocker she went out like a rocket and lead against the likes of Ellie Shea and Angelina Perez and Natalie Cook. Then she died after the first mile and a half and wound up finishing like 33rd or something. Hopefully her fitness now can match her enthusiasm this time around and she doesnt go in over her head again. Sure seems like it. This has been quite a year for her.
It turns out that the reason Rachel Forsyth started yesterday's race so ridiculously fast is because her goal wasn't to break the 16:52 course record. Her goal was to run faster than the 16:07 she had run the week before.
Forsyth does have a reputation for being overly aggressive in big meets. At least she did when she was younger. You may recall the last time she ran Footlocker she went out like a rocket and lead against the likes of Ellie Shea and Angelina Perez and Natalie Cook. Then she died after the first mile and a half and wound up finishing like 33rd or something. Hopefully her fitness now can match her enthusiasm this time around and she doesnt go in over her head again. Sure seems like it. This has been quite a year for her.
In today's NXR Midwest race, Rachel Forsyth ran the first mile in 5:00, and her 2 mile split was 10:18.
In 2019, the year Zofia Dudek won Footlocker in the fastest time in many years, Dudek's split were 5:10 and 10:43.
Last year at NXN, Irene Riggs' splits were 5:10 and 10:36.
The only other race that was close to Rachel's splits today was in 2020 at RunningLane. Jenna Hutchins' splits were 5:03 and 10:16, in her national record 15:58 race.
Rachel Forsyth obviously likes going out ridiculously fast. It will be interesting to see if any of the other runners at either NXN or Footlocker even try to keep up with her for the first 2 miles.
Rachel Forsyth obviously likes going out ridiculously fast. It will be interesting to see if any of the other runners at either NXN or Footlocker even try to keep up with her for the first 2 miles.
Elizabeth Leachman also loves to get out fast and the strategy for both these athletes all season long has been to run their opponents into the ground from the gun. so when these two finally toe the line together that first mile may be nuts. but it is five kilometers and we saw what Hedengren did at Woodbridge despite Leachman's ridiculous pace early. can someone stay within shouting distance and catch them in the end? I guess we gotta see how Jane and some of the others are looking at the regionals next week...
The Footlocker Balboa Park course record is 16:39 by Melody Fairchild back in 1990. Could a Rachel Forsyth vs Elizabeth Leachman vs Ellie Shea race result in a new course record?
Claudia Lane won Footlocker in 2016 and 2017, the years she ran 16:45 and 16:31 on the Woodward Park course. Englehardt recently ran 16:40 on that course at the Clovis Invite, so I think she is currently the favorite at Footlocker.
Englehardt dropped another 16:40pnt at Woodward Park today.
Claudia Lane won Footlocker in 2016 and 2017, the years she ran 16:45 and 16:31 on the Woodward Park course. Englehardt recently ran 16:40 on that course at the Clovis Invite, so I think she is currently the favorite at Footlocker.
Englehardt dropped another 16:40pnt at Woodward Park today.
Sadie is not an XC runner. Shea is definitely not her self but I don’t see her beating Forsyth or Leachman or even Wisniewski.
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