If we are worried about spectators, why don't more of these designed courses have better spectator cutthroughs? A tractor and about 30 minutes and you coukd have some nice places to run between the ideal course watch points. I have been to many of these courses and they are all similar. It makes no sense. They spend a bunch of money on the course but can't spend another $1000?
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.
fellow Pennsylvanian ?
kid from PA wrote:
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.
fellow Pennsylvanian ?
Was figuring the same thing. i don't know that the entire course needed to be closed Friday but there were parts that were not runnable due to safety concerns.
(Another runner named Floyd, who was pink, did well, and he was quoted as being "comfortably numb" in the race.)
I remember that race! From what I remembered, he was actually a little disappointed with how he ran, saying he hit "the wall" with about a mile to go.
Anyway, I recall that was so cold because the sun was obscured by clouds for most of the week. Our coach Arnold Lane told us to put the weather in the back of our minds and just to "run like hell" anyway as he didn't want to meddle in any of our previous race plans.
Course designer wrote:
If we are worried about spectators, why don't more of these designed courses have better spectator cutthroughs? A tractor and about 30 minutes and you coukd have some nice places to run between the ideal course watch points. I have been to many of these courses and they are all similar. It makes no sense. They spend a bunch of money on the course but can't spend another $1000?
Which 'top' courses have adequate/inadequate course cut-throughs and areas that are not blocked (e.g., like at LaVern-Gibson?
Jonathan Gault wrote:
The one exception is the downhill at 1k, the first turn of the course. That’s very muddy and under a tarp, which I’ve never seen before on that part of the course. Could get hairy if it doesn’t dry out by Saturday.
Sorry guys but you make me laugh when you get worried that a course gets muddy. This is occurring regularly this time of year across the pond....
https://www.ronhill.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/National1.jpghttp://www.chichester-runners.org.uk/images/ECCA%20XC%20Champs%20Parliament%20Hill/PH_XC_21feb15-02.jpghttp://www.chaser.me.uk/images/duffy.jpgJust run the damn race. Pansies. And if you see a bald half-human dude emerging from the ground, so go around.
This is why I largely left Alabama off my pics. Just saying.
They are all bad. Runners get pristine footing and Gramps is expected to run through tall grass and holes and rocks to watch.
"We need need to get back to running REAL CROSS COUNTRY, not these lame, weak golf-style course!"
- Rains before Nationals; some mud is expected -
"OMG EVERYBODY FREAK OUT WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE;" *proceeds to lose mind*
tarckstar wrote:
Just run the damn race. Pansies. And if you see a bald half-human dude emerging from the ground, so go around.
This is why I largely left Alabama off my pics. Just saying.
You didn't have to tell us you wus from 'bama. We could figure it out four usselves real fast.
Trail 9 wrote:
Jon,
I’m an Indiana high school coach and wanted to chime in on the course and its conditions. Last year, on the day before the state meet, that first right hand turn you mentioned was partially roped off using stakes and brightly colored ribbon. It rained a lot in Indiana last fall and the course was pretty wet on Friday for course previews. It seemed as though they were trying to prevent that turn from being churned up into a mud patch by teams and individuals who were getting in their pre-meet shakeouts.
Unfortunately, it caused everyone to run wide which absolutely destroyed the outside half of the turn. To make matters worse, on Saturday (the day of the State Meet), they opened up the closed off section and during warm ups, everyone stayed inside to avoid the mud, which then made the other half of the turn really muddy, too. The end result was that the entire first turn was incredibly slick and a complete mess.
In the big scheme of things, it may not have had too much of an impact on the race since the 5k course only goes through that section once. However, the 6k and 10k go through there twice each, so maybe it will have more of an impact.
This year, it rained on Wednesday and Thursday, so they just closed the course to teams on Friday to preserve it until the meet. On Saturday, they opened it an hour before the the first race so teams could warm up. The ground was soft and a bit wet in spots, but nowhere near as bad as last year. That turn has got to be the lowest point of the course and just always seems to be a bit soft.
Hey pal. Real runners do laps on Trail 8.
Why are they letting non-racers on the course? Quit mucking the course up more than it has to be.
KAV wrote:
Jonathan Gault wrote:
The one exception is the downhill at 1k, the first turn of the course. That’s very muddy and under a tarp, which I’ve never seen before on that part of the course. Could get hairy if it doesn’t dry out by Saturday.
Sorry guys but you make me laugh when you get worried that a course gets muddy. This is occurring regularly this time of year across the pond....
https://www.ronhill.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/National1.jpghttp://www.chichester-runners.org.uk/images/ECCA%20XC%20Champs%20Parliament%20Hill/PH_XC_21feb15-02.jpghttp://www.chaser.me.uk/images/duffy.jpg
Buncha toughies who dodge World Cross most years because they are afraid to even compete! But sure, stay home and play in the mud.
I just took a monster dump in the downhill corner. Enjoy.
KAV wrote:
Jonathan Gault wrote:
The one exception is the downhill at 1k, the first turn of the course. That’s very muddy and under a tarp, which I’ve never seen before on that part of the course. Could get hairy if it doesn’t dry out by Saturday.
Sorry guys but you make me laugh when you get worried that a course gets muddy. This is occurring regularly this time of year across the pond....
If Gault reported that this part of the course was literally on fire, some crusty crank on here would be claiming his state meet passed through the flaming gates of hell.
ohia wrote:
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.
this. just shut up and run. everyones in the same conditions.
Reading comprehension matters!
Did I miss where Jon said they should cancel the race or something?
Do millennials lack the attention span to read a full sentence and understand what it meant. It seems to me that Jon was informing us about the race conditions. I realize you're all tough-as-hell with your war story cross country histories (we've all been there), but why are you pontificating about this when he was only letting us know about the conditions?
I moved to London and am running my first season of English XC and couldn’t agree more. This is cross country...it’s unpredictable, muddy, and nasty. If you want something different, then wait for track season. The runner with the fastest flat 10k doesn’t always win in November.
Jonathan Gault wrote:
NCAAs are back in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the first time since 2016 and LRC officially has boots on the ground. I ran the course this afternoon and Rojo is getting in later today (no word on how much running he’ll do).
Overall the course is in pretty good condition, though some parts are roped off. It’s soggy the entire way, but footing is mostly good.
The one exception is the downhill at 1k, the first turn of the course. That’s very muddy and under a tarp, which I’ve never seen before on that part of the course. Could get hairy if it doesn’t dry out by Saturday.
I posted a few pics here on Twitter. No charge for the lower leg glamour shot.
https://twitter.com/jgault13/status/1197587875468107781?s=21
Good to hear it is challenging. The new order of WXC has changed after Aarhus. Now that was a tough course. A challenging course changes everything.
what the hell is wrong with your legs
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:
KAV wrote:
Sorry guys but you make me laugh when you get worried that a course gets muddy. This is occurring regularly this time of year across the pond....
https://www.ronhill.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/National1.jpghttp://www.chichester-runners.org.uk/images/ECCA%20XC%20Champs%20Parliament%20Hill/PH_XC_21feb15-02.jpghttp://www.chaser.me.uk/images/duffy.jpgBuncha toughies who dodge World Cross most years because they are afraid to even compete! But sure, stay home and play in the mud.
Tougher than you softies..... I am sure some people are worried they will be spoling their 4%....
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