What is... wrote:
What is the obsession with course conditions and rain or no rain for a cross country race? it's part of the package deal in cross. Everyone runs the same course, same conditions, everyone has the same chance to navigate the same course. Roping off parts of the course, putting down tarps...a couple of weeks ago a state meet closed the course for pre-race runs because they were afraid it would tear the course up too much. Again, everyone runs the same course at the same time. Good grief.
Good grief that you actually see a discussion about weather/course conditions as obsessive! I don't know about you, but I'd PREFER a less-waterlogged course, no wind, no rain, and temps in, say, the 40s. I'd PREFER it, but I'd run in whatever conditions exist, just like everyone else. NO KIDDING everyone has the same chance. That's no issue to anyone here.
If the course had a killer hill in it, there would be talk about that killer hill. I guess our OP would consider any talk about a killer hill to be obsessive.
Also, meet officials want a course to be presentable, and on the safer side. Big deal that they put up a tarp. Let's not forget that there can be liability insurance issues, too. Probably not for the NCAA runners, but for a spectator who slips in the slop? And if I were race director, I sure wouldn't want any competitors to, say, blow out a knee because of poor conditions. So, a little bit of work here and there can be valuable and understandable.
I know of a couple of courses which were changed because the owners of the land refused to allow their property to be mauled in the bad conditions. I don't know how the NCAA Div I contract works, but there is a reasonable and customary amount of impact that may not be allowed to be exceeded without some penalty. The meet director will probably be happier if there was no penalty.
I'm thinking of NXN on a golf course. The country club allows the competition, of course, and the conditions in the Portland area are rarely, if ever, going to be decent, but still, the management, despite getting paid by Nike for the rental, sure would love it if the wear and tear were easier on their grounds.
It's now Friday morning. I can guarantee that a lot of readers are wondering about weather and course conditions for Saturday's championship races. Just wondering, like any fan wonders about upcoming conditions. Thanks to Jonathan for starting this dissemination of useful information.
I remember the '78 NCAAs, held in Wisconsin in temps in the teens, I think. OF COURSE everyone had the same conditions to run in, but Henry Rono, who had set four world records in four different track events earlier that year, just despised the horribly cold and icy conditions. He bombed out, finishing in 237th and beating only four runners. (Another runner named Floyd, who was pink, did well, and he was quoted as being "comfortably numb" in the race.)
Most would have PREFERRED better conditions, and probably many didn't care, but everyone on the starting line knew that the ideal conditions were not gonna be there. So they ran anyway. Some, like Rono, did poorly, and others excelled in trying conditions in this sport which is fascinating because of its unique challenges.