The Wood Report: Cross Country Times Don’t Matter?

That isn’t the reality anymore. Just look at all the news right now about XC, it’s all times. I wish it weren’t true but they absolutely do matter. Unfortunately there are some out there putting on short course races to make their times look better and this get National attention.

U Really Think So? wrote:

That isn’t the reality anymore. Just look at all the news right now about XC, it’s all times. I wish it weren’t true but they absolutely do matter. Unfortunately there are some out there putting on short course races to make their times look better and this get National attention.

I’d see a guy who can run 15’s consistently on an XC course then an 18 min guy who wins meets without competition.

You’re extrapolating his argument way too far.

A more realistic difference would be a guy who runs 15:20 on a course and gets sixth vs a guy who runs 15:30 or 40 on a course and wins

He’s also referring to courses set up to get kids fast 5k times. Every year in my state there’s 1-2 early season meets where kids set 20 second seasons bests. Course is obviously not 5k but coaches and athletes still go there because it’s “fast”

In XC times kinda matter, but not always. In XC it's always place over time. I'd argue that in track it is the opposite.

In XC if the course is difficult, the weather poor and the winning time is 16:00 then the rest of the field is scaled for those particular set of circumstances. The next week the same kid could run in perfect weather conditions on a fast route and run significantly faster.

In track a 400m track is the same in CO as it is in CA as it is in Oslo. So that variable is taken out, so now you are just dealing with weather which is of even lesser of a concern on the track. You run a 9:00 3200, it's the same everywhere.

I agree except CO was run at altitude.

Those who have been around a long time know that Isaac Wood understands the sport a lot better than IPlayTrackFoundation.

While I agree that the focus should be on team scoring and placing, times also play a huge role for many runners.

I coach a team of 75 high school kids. We will challenge for a state berth this year. That is the main goal for the top 7 boys SVR 7 girls. What about the remaining 61 kids on the team? What do they shoot for? You think they track their competition from meet to meet and compare where they stacked up against the other 24:00 5k guys? Nope. They just want a PR. That’s their motivation. It’s the only tangible thing they see.

Agree. Very similar situation as you.

4L wrote:

You’re extrapolating his argument way too far.

A more realistic difference would be a guy who runs 15:20 on a course and gets sixth vs a guy who runs 15:30 or 40 on a course and wins

He’s also referring to courses set up to get kids fast 5k times. Every year in my state there’s 1-2 early season meets where kids set 20 second seasons bests. Course is obviously not 5k but coaches and athletes still go there because it’s “fast”

That’s why you look at overall consistency. You wanna see multiple FAST times across the board. When I’m recruiting I like to see times Sub-16:30 for the 5k. I look at races for those times and obviously I want to see an improved in progression (especially around championship season).

When it comes to championship season it depends on the state, an XC guy from Georgia is going to standout… but his times will slower. Vs. a guy from Texas who may have less “wins” or too finishes but Fast and Consistent.

I’d rather take the guy who averaged 15th place running 15-16 minutes for XC than the guy who finished 1st and 2nd his career but only averaged 17 minutes.

I’d rather recruit a guy a averaged 15th place but consistently ran 16:10’s for the season vs the guy who finished 1st to 3rd overall but only ran 17’s all season. The GHSAA 1A boys XC State champion in 2020 won in 16:50:07 vs Texas 1A boys where that would place you 12th

Times matter locally but not nationally

Times on well known courses also matter

Like if you run 15:30 on some regular course that's goo

15:30 at Holmdel Park or Vanny, that's good

You're making the same mistake as the other poster. You're taking the argument way out of proportion. There's a HUGE difference between 15, 16, and 17 flat for 5k. a 17 flat guy wouldnt even get looked at in recruiting unless he has a fast 800 either. If you have a kid that wins every race from his dual meets to the state championship, he's eventually going to run a fast time.

Winning state/regionals 100% takes precedent over running a fast time on a course during midseason when things don't matter. It shows you have good training, can peak well, are a smart racer, and have the drive to win. Not just chase arbitrary times