The Ten Worst States for Distance Running

Show Me State wrote:

Missouri? Really?

Matt Tegenkamp, Joe Falcon, Mark Curp, Serena Burla, Jason Pyrah, Michael Cox, Seth Summerside, Jason Lehmkuhle, Heather Burroughs, Olympic triathlete Sarah Haskins, Joe Luechtmann, Art Waddle...

Terrain? Ever hear of the Ozarks?

I agree. I went to college there and yes, july and august can be brutal. However, some of my fondest memories are 15 mile runs down gently rolling dirt roads and trails with my shirt off on a sunny 80 degree day in the middle of october or the end of march.

Fall and spring are very long there and there are always trails not far away. You get some cold days in the winter but its never too cold to go out for a run there. You can have your minnesotas and wisconsins with their 2 month summers and 8 month winters.

Who ??? Druggie Billy??? Ran a minute PR in a Olympic final??? Good they didn't have drug tests back then. Sorry, the truth hurts.

I am not sure why people are getting all up in arms about the NJ thing. People love to hate on NJ and we NJers love to jump all over the haters but this guy's troll is ridiculously obvious.

Mill's = legend, sounds like someone doesn't have a gold medal from their state.

Screw off , Mills worked for his medal and overcame a hell of a lot more than you could ever imagine. The fact that he got off the reservation and made something of himself should be counted as his biggest achievement not some medal. So what if he may have not been 100 percent clean, everyone with success is considered unclean on this site. Mills served his country and gave pride back to his people. Being a native of SD you see 5-10 Native-American's with similar potential piss it all away and flunk out of HS or college. To bash one of the few that overcame it all is wrong.

I think the worst states, at least for training, are in the midwest.

I'm from Kansas, and a day with 15 mph winds isn't really considered windy, its normal. I've only ran a handful of track meets in 8 years that haven't been windy and/or incredibly hot.

The seasonal shifts are also annoying. At the end of fall, you can have days in the mid to upper 90's, and then a week later BOOM! 15 degrees.

Saying you don't want responses on Let's Run is like asking a fat kid not to eat cake.

Besides that point, really, what did you base this on? Because, as has been said, numerous times, NJ has turned out some fantastic runners, and will continue to do so. What statistical evidence did you use to back this up? Did you compile a list of state championships for the last 10 years and compare top 10 times across the board, or even just fastest times run in the state?

I'm from South Carolina, and I admit it, the distance running in this state is pathetic. With the exception of guys like Luke Lovelace, Marc Blackmon (now in NC :() and a select few, this state just makes for terrible distance running. Also, in case someone hadn't responded to the question about a distance runner from Alaska, Trevor Dunbar.

This is the definition of Trollism.

ELIZABETHTON!!!!

The middle of Oct. and it's 95 and then the next day BOOM it's 25 and WINDY! WTF Kansas?

hmmmmmmhm wrote:

I think the worst states, at least for training, are in the midwest.

I'm from Kansas, and a day with 15 mph winds isn't really considered windy, its normal. I've only ran a handful of track meets in 8 years that haven't been windy and/or incredibly hot.

The seasonal shifts are also annoying. At the end of fall, you can have days in the mid to upper 90's, and then a week later BOOM! 15 degrees.

there are some very nice loops in this area of NJersey

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.7345434&lon=-74.1250455&z=17&l=0&m=b

Well said. Missouri is not the armpit of the running world.

The 2nd smartest letsrun poste wrote:

Sorry it took so long for me to respond - I've been researching.

The 2nd top 10 worst states for distance running, from suckiest to 10th suckiest:

1. Mississippi

2. Nebraska

3. Louisiana

4. North Dakota

5. Nevada

6. Texas

7. Oklahoma

8. Iowa

9. Missouri

10. Delaware

I'm surprised that you didn't put California and Oregon in this list knowing what you put on your first list.

I'm a jerk.

I am a MO fan and have watched kids like Pyrah and Teg blossom. I run in MO and savor the 100 degree days and the sub zero days. You know what the best state for running is? The state you live in, Bitches. Anyone who is not running because they enjoy it is stupid!

By the way, there is a hell of a lot more to life than running, but it is good for you and fun. Last time I saw Joe Falcon, another MO runner, he was a local cop in his home town of Belton and happy as a puppy with two peters, but not running. I love to run and watch others run, but running is not important unless you need to catch something or get away.

o/10 for the losers

Ranked by overall experience. Weather, topography, and the class of inhabitants are major determinants

1. California

2. New York

3. Alaska

4. New Jersey

5. Minnesota

6. Louisiana

7. Alabama

8. Georgia

9. Illinois

10. Florida

pavementandpeople wrote:

Ranked by overall experience. Weather, topography, and the class of inhabitants are major determinants

1. California

2. New York

3. Alaska

4. New Jersey

5. Minnesota

6. Louisiana

7. Alabama

8. Georgia

9. Illinois

10. Florida

Wow, great start but it deteriorates rapidly, were you going for diversity in the criteria you named...hot vs cold, flat vs tallest peaks, educated vs hilljacks? Leaving Massachusetts off is disturbing. I am guessing you are from the Southeast and just decided to pander to CA, NY and NJ.

I'm gay.

1) Texas

2) Texas

3) Alabama

4) Texas

5) Louisiana

6) Texas

7) Mississippi

8) Texas

9) Georgia

10) Texas

no doubt

How many states have a 6-lane, 400 meter indoor facility like this one in Anchorage, Alaska? Full netting to keep balls/people off track. Over track cross walk to keep morons from walking into path of workout.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=alaska+dome+photos&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1440&bih=

Our 70 degree days this past week sure did suck compared to the nice 110+ heat index weather days all those awesome running states have.

Those miserable Alaska winters sure were a disadvantage when Christine Clark won the Olympic Trials marathon in 2000.