is that right? wrote:
Did you race the course both years? I did...and it is exactly the same. It might have been a little more slippery around the turns last year, but other than that, no change.
I don't remember the course being slippery last year. It was hot and dry.
The course is 4 giant loops. The course could appear the same (or even be intended to be the same) and still be short by 40sec. That's only 10sec per loop or approx 50m. There are a lot of loops cutting through random spots on the fairway. They could easily have been off by 20-25m on one turn and on a loop that would be 50m per loop.
The course appeared to be the same loop at regionals last year as it was for the invitational but it was clearly shorter when they went through the mile in 4:24 and Rupp ran 27:30 for 10k and something like 30 guys broke 30min.
In the end times don't matter in xc, but its fun to compare times from year to year to judge your competition.