High School XC Distances

Us isn't always 5k. Illinois runs 3 miles for boys and girls. Texas runs 2 miles for girls. I think another state runs 3 miles too. Then you get courses that aren't measured correctly and are short, which every joe claims is their pr. Colleges are even worse. If a team goes to the right meets they could run a 4,5,6,8, and 10k for men all in the same season.

Maybe I should ask: are there any States that run a different race distance in each grade level? Not all the lower meets are run at these distances, but the championship meets are.

So if I understand correctly, the every grade has a separate championship distance, and thus separate race and champion? How do they figure team scoring? Do you have to have a team of just seniors, a team of just juniors, etc...?

What state are you in?

In mine, it is pretty consistent. The middle school runners tend to go a bit shorter... 2 miles or so.

But, once they get to high school the standard distance is 5K for boys and girls, with some races being 3 miles.

Ontario has slightly different terms for their 3 age groups - Midget (G9), Junior (G10) and Senior (G11,12, VL).

Distances are G/B - 3k/5k, 4k/6k, 5k/7k.

Ontario used to have a 5th year of HS (G13, later OAC), but hasn't for about 10 years or so. The age groups were changed as previously it was Midget (G9, G10 if born from sept to dec), Junior (10 and 11, G12 if born Sep-Dec), Senior for others. When the new system came into effect they should have just had two age-groups - Junior (G9/10) and Senior (G11/12).

Seniors used to run 8k/5miles back in the day, although 4 miles prior to that (1960's).

The idea for 3 age groups is participation and an equal opportunity for medals - it is assumed that G9 runners should not be competitive with G12 runners, which is normally true based on general maturity rates. More runners can compete for medals than if just one age-group. There are no designations for size of school for XC - all schools can field teams who compete for the same medals at the provincial championship (OFSAA). Team size is 5 (4 to score).

I agree with you. We used to have a seniors boys race in the 8km range. Try www.trackie.com

I'm okay with the separation of grades (though it's not my preference), but what I really don't understand is the increasing race distance from year to year. I just can't figure out what idealized model the Canadian architects were thinking of when they designed this progression. Among other arguments, just to be able to see your improvment year over year on the same course is a powerful motivator that is lacking in the Canadian system.