Woddbridge invitational 34 guys under 15:00, ever been done before?

3200 PRs of those top 3-

8:55.16

9:03.26

8:56.44

off constantly wrote:

3200 PRs of those top 3-

8:55.16

9:03.26

8:56.44

Now, that's useful for proving the legitimacy of the course and the gap between those three and the last of the 34 who broke 15:00. Nicely done.

Actually, bringing up the course distance is relevent in this discussion for a couple of reasons. First, Coach Vargas has to field questions every year about the length of the Woodbridge course because there are so many doubters. That is why he personally wheels the course himself every year to make sure it is 3.0. Second, because the results are fast, that does mean a mismeasured course. Arcadia track invite puts up incredible times each year and no one comes out and says the track is short. Anyone who has actually been to Woodbridge, watched the race,and felt the excitement there, would say that the course is legit.

[/quote]

I have no idea if this course is short and can only assume that everyone involved is smart, honest and accurate. I have no idea who the people involved are and have never been to the race.

You would have a much better argument that the course wasn't short, if you just had a large bunch of guys barely breaking 15:00. You also had three runners below 14:14.

On a related topic, if you want to prove that a course isn't short, isn't the race director's assurance that it's not short, so little help in such matters as to be not helpful? Every short course has a race director representing that it's been measured. Yup, did it myself. Or, it was done long ago and never changed, etc. Now, if the race director of a competing race, where times are slower, measures it and says, it's exactly as long as my slow race that is exactly 3 miles, that's worth mentioning.[/quote]

Twas there wrote:

Arcadia track invite puts up incredible times each year and no one comes out and says the track is short.

Dude, You must not be from these parts. Everyone on letsrun knows the Arcadia track is 394 meters.

I just measured the Woodbridge cross country course twice on Tuesday and I have news for everyone. The course is 2.92 miles and the total elevation of the course is 162 meters down hill. this means that not only is the course short, but its also down hill.

This should not be a surprise to anyone. When you really think about it, did 90% of the competitors in the Woodbridge race wake up that day and have the best race of their entire lives, or was the course short and downhill. Its obvious that the course was short and downhill.

The reason why Woodbridge officials are saying that the course is 3.0 miles is because they want you all back next year to fill up their money coffers. Great job everyone. I hope you feel good about your Woodbridge PR. But there isn't a single college coach who will give an ounce of credibility to the Woodbridge course being legit. We shall see how everyone will mysteriously have bad races in the next two to three weeks, running 30 seconds slower than there great day at Woodbridge. Watch folks. Just watch!

The course they used this year(2009), is not the same course that they have used in past years.

Thanks for the info. After reading all of this i kinda think you guys are right. The course at Woodbridge is short and we should just be happy that we ran the times we did. I got a personal best by 43 seconds in that race and I know Im about the same as last season because of injury.

My entire team got a PR at the Woodbridge Invitational and i know they aren't in PR shape right now. But no wy will I tell them that Woodbridge was only 2.92. Their confidence is sky high right now.

off constantly wrote:

That's not an unusual number of guys under 15:00 at the Illinois state meet, which runs about the same as Woodbridge according to the guys whose business it is to compare courses. Over the past 4 years, the number of guys under 15:00 have been- 36, 41, 36, 24, with this year looking to be another very good year.

No one ever claimed Detweiller (sp?) park was a 5k. It's always been three miles, just like every other high school course in the state of Illinois.

no one claimed woodbridge was a 5k either. it is a pancake-flat 3 mile very similar to detweiller. The guy saying it is 2.92 with an elevation of "162 meters downhill(!)" is pretty obviously a troll, and probably wrote all or most of the responses to his post.

Nice try. It's a loop course with alot of turns, not a downhill one.

I was in this race, and can confirm that it was a full 3 miles. We had a bike escort, and this African dude with a drum was hired to run with the kids and shout encouragement mixed with his sick beats. They both actually fell behind the leaders about halfway, and I took the lead. I just got lost in the scenery and f'ing flew. Next thing I knew, I had run off the course about 300 yards before turning around and still managing to finish under 15. I cooled down with my Garmin on the route I ran (including my mistake) and learned that I actually ran 3.4 miles in 14:58. That should put me in pretty good position to advance to Foot Locker Nationals in November if my math is right. In my opinion, everything was 100% accurate and legit.

i seen it wrote:

I was in this race, and can confirm that it was a full 3 miles. We had a bike escort, and this African dude with a drum was hired to run with the kids and shout encouragement mixed with his sick beats. They both actually fell behind the leaders about halfway, and I took the lead. I just got lost in the scenery and f'ing flew. Next thing I knew, I had run off the course about 300 yards before turning around and still managing to finish under 15. I cooled down with my Garmin on the route I ran (including my mistake) and learned that I actually ran 3.4 miles in 14:58. That should put me in pretty good position to advance to Foot Locker Nationals in November if my math is right. In my opinion, everything was 100% accurate and legit.

Not only will you advance to FL Nationals, you will likely win and be the only HS boy in American history to run a 5k XC race under 14:00.

14:58 for 3.4? That is impressive son.

FWIW to all of you, look up results to the Illinois State Meet. I believe that they run all the classes together and Illinois is a STRONG state for XC anyway. I believe that the winner is usually between 14:00 and 14:15 (there have been a few sub-14:00s (like Virgin, Spivey and Sage) and they usually pack about 25-35 under 15:00. This course WAS 2.98 miles or just short of 3.00. They may have lengthened it in recent years.

BTW, why run 5k now and still have mile splits like we did 25 years ago? Why not have kilo splits? Or we might as well run 4 miles or revert back to 3 miles.

Why are some states still running 3 miles? We made the switch 30 years ago!! 30 yrs people!!

Unfortunately, your math, or your Garmin, is completely wrong. 14:58 in 3.4 miles equates to a 13:12 3-mile, which is very close to the world record. First of all, a runner who's even close to as fast as you supposedly are, would not get "lost in the scenery" in the middle of a race, and second of all, when you're racing a well-laid-out course like Woodbridge, it would be hard to even get lost because it's so obvious where to go. Third of all, they didn't hire an African dude with a drum, that's a complete lie. Fourth of all, bike escorts never fall behind the top runners. The only thing you're right about is that the course was a full three miles, as it's easy enough to measure with a Garmin, and it is a legit course.

i seen it wrote:

I was in this race, and can confirm that it was a full 3 miles. We had a bike escort, and this African dude with a drum was hired to run with the kids and shout encouragement mixed with his sick beats. They both actually fell behind the leaders about halfway, and I took the lead. I just got lost in the scenery and f'ing flew. Next thing I knew, I had run off the course about 300 yards before turning around and still managing to finish under 15. I cooled down with my Garmin on the route I ran (including my mistake) and learned that I actually ran 3.4 miles in 14:58. That should put me in pretty good position to advance to Foot Locker Nationals in November if my math is right. In my opinion, everything was 100% accurate and legit.

shimon wrote:

Isn't it basically a road race? They don't do real xc in california

I've got a feeling its one of those races where everyone lines up in streaks instead of victory xcs.

[quote]jamesfontaine wrote:

Then why didn't he say 3.0 in his post? 5k is much more common so of course we would question it. I would not question 34 guys under 15 for 3 miles.

I would

"3 miles" in XC means 2.7-3.3 miles in cross country. Courses were notoriously short in the 70's. The rule is short is better than long.

Probably the only case this is true.

Times mean little. Hills, flat, hot, cold... Place is what matters.