Seyta wrote:
mwwwin1 wrote:
Since Virgin's record, hasn't the course changed slightly? I seem to remember reading something about the new course not including a hill/incline near the end, effectively making it a tad bit faster.
It was lengthened to a full 3 miles, since it was 2.97 or 2.98 miles prior.
Realistically, it should have been Chris Derrick’s record, but now, both can be stated to have been broken.
No. It was never lengthened to 3.0 miles. Not by USATF standards.
The current course as defined by “monuments” embedded in the ground was measured to be 2.9758 miles following the shortest-possible-route method using a tape, the most accurate method of measuring. That measurement was made the year after Derrick ran his 13:52 in an attempt to determine the actual course length. If no course changes were made then that is what Meth just ran.
At the time the current course was measured a good faith effort was made to measure the original 1971 course using first hand knowledge of those who were there along with many pictures taken Of the race. Astonishingly the original course measured almost exactly what the current course measures. This makes some sense as both courses would have been calibrated to measure 3.0 down the middle of the path, the ridiculous NFHS standard that was in place until recently. Any course setup to that standard could be shortened by running on the inside of the turns.
The course was changed around 2000 to add room around the start and finish lines for bigger crowds, but the terrain and elevation changes remained the same and comparisons between the original course and today’s course are as fair as any XC times spanning a 50 time period.
People say the course is flat, but it consists of three loops with each loop descending and ascending around 30 feet for a total of 90 feet up and down. The elevation changes are long and subtle so it looks “flat”, but that finish line is up hill for the last 500+ meters!