While acknowledging the historical significance of the Bob Firman course, it's time to reconsider the NXR Northwest Regional course, especially now that Idaho has become a powerhouse. Idaho's high-altitude training gives them a unique advantage on this course at 2,540 feet above sea level. This poses a challenge for other sea-level northwest teams, and I believe there's a specific strategy to navigate this course effectively. For instance, Gig Harbor averaged only 16:12 on that course but later won NXN convincingly over teams like CBA (2013) and Arcadia (2013), both extensively discussed in this thread. Bozeman, with a 15:53 average on the same course, surprised everyone by winning NXN in 2016 over the favorite, American Fork, with a substantial margin. The crux of the matter is whether numerous teams perform poorly on this course, or if a sub-16:00 5k time is equivalent to an NXN title. It's one or the other. From my perspective, either the teams in the region are exceptionally competitive, or teams from sea level struggle significantly when running this course for the first time. Illustrating this, consider Great Oak in 2022, finishing 6th in NXN with a 16:16 average and placing 4th at Bob Firman. In 2023 Bob Firman Invitational Herriman averages 15:34, Trabuco Hills secured 8th place with a 16:13 average at Bob Firman, while early-season Dana Hills (missing a key runner) claimed 12th with a 16:17 average. Early-season Dana Hills, with the same squad, posted a 14:43 average at Woodbridge, 22 seconds worse than Herriman. When Dana Hills participated in the Bob Firman Invitational, their average increased from 22 seconds to 43 seconds behind Herriman. Trabuco Hills had a 33-second average behind Herriman at Woodbridge, increasing to a 39 average at Bob Firman. As mentioned earlier, either Herriman significantly improved on that course, or there's a unique challenge that sea-level teams face when running it for the first time.