Run-Down Forums

[Paul]

Footlocker Regionals this weekend!!

Question for all the coaches out there:
1) What is it going to be like running in Kenosha at the end of Nov??
2) The Western Regional is being held a week later on Dec 7, with only a week in between to the Nationals on Dec 14. Good or bad??

Paul

[Hammer]

Do you want to know about Kenosha?? The person to ask is coachd. Trust me.

1 week between regionals and nationals may make people run a little more conservative. In 1999 (I think) Coach Newton told Donald Sage to back off with about 800m to go and "just qualify" and he did what he was told and watched Ritz run away from him @ the regional. A week later Ritz wins nationals!! To me it seemed that Ritz gained the confidence to win nationals @ regionals, that race may have been a hudge stepping stone in Ritz's career.

[Distance_Guru]

I personally think for a 17 year old the only difference in 1 week and 2 weeks between regionals and nationals is that it's one less week for them to get nervous. I think it's better to have a 1 week gap than 2.

What Hammer was refering to about coachd and the Kenosha coarse is that he claims to have helped design it. Which is pretty darn cool considering it's one of the most historic courses in the US.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

[coachd]

Helped design AND spent hours of backbreaking work clearing trees and chopping weeds and whatever the hell else Dr. Dannehl had me do!

Kenosha in November? Be ready for anything...colder than cold, snow, sleet, mud and muck...or 50 degrees and as beautiful a fall day as you could want. I'd go prepared for each possibility.

Kenosha starts with about 700 meters of gradual uphill and is a true cross-country course. Well groomed grassy trails, but not fairway-like. Hills, slopes, up and down... a little of everything. Good luck

[Dan]

Oh man, I've helped build a XC course before and can attest to the back-breaking nature...

Lots of good points above. I would also add that only a week apart is probably better that late in the season, as it's probably been a few weeks since any of them have raced seriously (so they're rested) and two weeks is long enough for rust to set it without really bouncing back from adrenalin, or something like that...

Dan

[Paul]

Actually, the Ore and Wash runners just had the Border Clash at Nike. Another missed opportunity for me.

[Dan]

I've made it to a couple of them, but not this year's. Looks like it was quite a race:

http://www.borderclash.com

Dan

[Hammer]

The results are in from 3 of the 4 Regionals. The West Regional will be held this weekend @ Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC)

The South has 2 top contenders in Bobby Curtis of Kentucky 14.49 (ran 9 sec. slower than Alan Webb's time) and Rachael Florish from Texas who ran 17.56.

The Northeast had a great boys race with the top 10 in contention to the end but the times were slow comparing them to the Girls. The girls race had 3 quick times including Kathleen Trotter of New Jersey who finished 3rd. Ari Lambie (17.34) should be one of the favorites in San Diego.

Midwest was cold as advertised. Megan Kaltenbach CO 18:08(1st place) and Katelyn Kaltenbach 18:23(5th place) sisters both qualified but the girls times seemed slow. On the boys side Chris Solinsky WI 14:48 punched his ticked to San Diego and should be a favorite.

[Dan]

Sounds like you're quite the high school fan. Keep the reports coming!

Dan

[Hammer]

One more note: Only the athletes in the West Region will have to race on back to back weeks. But every year the athletes from the West Region are some of the best.

[Distance_Guru]

I think that's do to several reasons. First off the only other region that has weather as nice as the west is the south. I think distance running is higher on the sports food chain in the west than in the east or south (and possibly mid west as well). The states of Utah, California, Oregon and Washington which are all top notch when it comes to producing distance runners. Also the last time I checked (which was back when I was running at the Footlacker West Regional) the California State Meet was much closer to Regionals than most other states which makes it easier for High School coaches there to maintain a peek level of fitness in their athletes. All these factors tend to lead to stronger athletes coming out of the west than out of other reigons.

One thing I've always wondered about. Why is it that the east, which has a larger population compaired to the rest of the country fails to produce quaility teams in any volume? That goes for both high school and college. Of the top 10 ranked high school cross country teams this year there are only 2 from the east both girls teams Saratoga Springs, NY, and Wyomissing, PA (although Saratoga is the top ranked team in the country). The farthest east of any of the top 10 reanked mens teams is in Ohio. I college there are far more colleges to choose from on the east coast which would tend to dillute the talent more than in the rest of the country. But that shouldn't affect high schools. I realize that the primary posters on this board are either out west or in the south but I was wondering if anyone had any reasons why the discrepanscy.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

[Dan]

Too many distractions back east? Other sports more popular relatively? Not enough places to run in the big cities to avoid being hit by taxis? Luck of the draw?

Dan

[Distance_Guru]

I'll buy the taxi reasoning. And also climate. But what other sports do they have in say New York that they don't in California? Hockey I suppose, but in California you've got surfing, beach volleyball, along with hikeing and rodeo. And luck of the draw dosen't seem right either after all there are more people back east and since the demographic for your typical American distance runners (white and middle to upperclass, as a genralization) are about equal it wouldn't make sense that the west would end up consistantly ahead. Also on the other major message board I visit there are more posters from the east coast than anywhere else and that makes it seem to me like it's a fairly big sport back east. Possibly more so than anywhere that I've been. Which again leaves me a little baffled.

Of coarse last time I checked two internet message boards don't consititute a very well rounded scientific sourvey.
_________________
Time is the fire in which we burn

[Dan]

I was thinking more along the lines of where the "big sport" (i.e. basketball and football) tend to be churned out from, and that seems to be more an East Coast thing (although California certainly skews that). Working backward and tying in the seeming lack of prep running turnout -- not sure I can really make a strong claim there, as the likes of Riley and Webb are only two examples of pretty darn good runners from the area -- would seem to indicate the region is more focused on other sports. Who knows, I'm just rambling now...

Dan

[Hammer]

Actually Eastern Colleges do offer more sports to athletes than Western Colleges. How many Rowing and La Cross (sp) teams do you see in the West?? And a lot of those sports are also available at the High School level.