One of the more memorable Footlocker years due to the last 150 smackdown placed by Withrow in the boys race, but unfortunately it has seemed to overshadow how awesome the girls race was. It was a dense group up front for most of the contest with Jenny Barringer doing the majority of the work, and then a memorable last sprint with Kaltenbach winning in the end and Barringer ending up third.
It got me thinking about how good Barringer's performance was coming from Florida. Balboa Park is quite hillier than just the major hill talked about on the course. I understand that as one of the best in the nation, you should be dominant or competitive on no matter how hilly the course, but this was against the best girls in the nation, some who have been training at altitude or at the very least have a hill to run on their campus.
Getting 3rd is getting 3rd, but what kind of handicap would you give someone from Florida and how do people from there actually train for hilly courses on the national level?