Is The RunningLane Course 5K? Or Is It Short?

the lanes were in place for the whole fall last year at John Hunt Park, for COVID considerations. Not every meet used them, but the local Middle School and High School meets at JHP required them.

I wasn't at RL last year, but I imagine the lanes were ignored.

tennessee dude wrote:

the lanes were in place for the whole fall last year at John Hunt Park, for COVID considerations. Not every meet used them, but the local Middle School and High School meets at JHP required them.

I wasn't at RL last year, but I imagine the lanes were ignored.

Thanks for the reply! Do you recall if the starting line was straight or curved(convex)? With the 100m lanes last year it looked like a straight starting line.

the curve is very, very subtle. It was there, even with the lanes. But the opening straight is half a mile long and the course is so wide, AND the starting line so wide, it's hard to see unless you stand at one end and look to the other.

I didn't take out a protractor to determine the starting line angle(s), but it "felt" right, and I've been on a lot of courses in my life.

I have a lot of questions about how JHP was raced this weekend...but I know that fall 2020 when I was out there several times, it was a true 5km course.

tennessee dude wrote:

the curve is very, very subtle. It was there, even with the lanes. But the opening straight is half a mile long and the course is so wide, AND the starting line so wide, it's hard to see unless you stand at one end and look to the other.

I didn't take out a protractor to determine the starting line angle(s), but it "felt" right, and I've been on a lot of courses in my life.

I have a lot of questions about how JHP was raced this weekend...but I know that fall 2020 when I was out there several times, it was a true 5km course.

Interesting! A curved starting line, but then having 100m straight lines is intriguing.

Is anyone good at math that can show how much the line should be curved with a 100m wide starting line and 650m to the first turn? Assume 50 two meter wide starting boxes with box 50 exactly in the middle and looking straight at the first turn.

First straight is 600 meters. I can't do the math but can't imagine that the curved line would even be noticeable. `

I think it is 2 meters at the ends. So if it is straight, that is about .34 seconds further.

I would say the RunningLane course is no Balboa Park XC Course that's for sure. Seems like race directors these days just want to create the fastest course they can. To me it's all marketing crap. Look at the buzz it's created.

Nike is knocking wrote:

First straight is 600 meters. I can't do the math but can't imagine that the curved line would even be noticeable. `

You wouldn't notice 6' over 50 m to your left or right if standing in box 50?

Probably if I looked for it but almost no kid on the starting line will have noticed it before their race. Let's assume that it is curved the proper amount and it is noticeable. Where are you going with this?

how do speed ratings work wrote:

high school xc coach wrote:

Ritz also has the highest speed rating ever recorded. 214. Sahlman was only a 203 today.

how are speed ratings calculated? Aidan ross got a 192 for a 14:47 this year, shattered course record by 18 seconds. Ryan oosting got a 196 for a 15:08 on the same course 3 years ago. Conditions were similar, both ran solo, and ross is a junior if that means anything

Haha, the course those two ran on in Wrentham is very fast, somewhat short and never the same year to year. The pattern in Mass. these days is to make courses short and flat so they can attract teams with coaches who keep school records for XC times. They also can hold multiple invitationals on these courses and get a big turnout and more entry fee revenue.

Nike is knocking wrote:

Probably if I looked for it but almost no kid on the starting line will have noticed it before their race. Let's assume that it is curved the proper amount and it is noticeable. Where are you going with this?

The assumption that if a concave starting line wasn't set up, the chances of a properly measured course also decrease.

wejo wrote:

The course is super flat. It's rare for the best in the country to run on such a cross country course. Usually cross country courses have hills, etc.

Someone already pointed out that the course is not super flat. Also, it is a true 5K.

You lose credibility when you make uninformed comments like this. The course is Bermuda grass and it is well-manicured. That is why it is such a fast course. Additionally, the turns are sweeping and are such that the pace does not need to be decreased. There are no sharp turns.

Know what you're talking about before commenting.

Completely different things. An engineering firm along with the NCAA and NFHS and other experts designed the permanent course. A meet organizer takes care of the meet. But I am confident that the proper curvature was used.

Remember when Noah Lyles ran a 200 this year and started at the wrong line? I guess the track was short according to your logic. That happens frequently at all levels.

mass is soft wrote:

how do speed ratings work wrote:

how are speed ratings calculated? Aidan ross got a 192 for a 14:47 this year, shattered course record by 18 seconds. Ryan oosting got a 196 for a 15:08 on the same course 3 years ago. Conditions were similar, both ran solo, and ross is a junior if that means anything

Haha, the course those two ran on in Wrentham is very fast, somewhat short and never the same year to year. The pattern in Mass. these days is to make courses short and flat so they can attract teams with coaches who keep school records for XC times. They also can hold multiple invitationals on these courses and get a big turnout and more entry fee revenue.

that's straight up not true, the course is not noticeably different year to year. and im not asking why they weren't rated higher, im asking about the discrepancies in their ratings compared to one another. nonexistent reading comprehension

Nike is knocking wrote:

Completely different things.

Not sure what you are responding to?

An engineering firm along with the NCAA and NFHS and other experts designed the permanent course.

Designing and measuring are not the same thing.

A meet organizer takes care of the meet. But I am confident that the proper curvature was used.

Great!

Remember when Noah Lyles ran a 200 this year and started at the wrong line?

I did not see that race.

I guess the track was short according to your logic.

If he somehow started in front of a standard 200m starting line he would have ran short of 200m, but that doesn't make the track short .

That happens frequently at all levels.

That runners start at the wrong starting lines?

Replied in bold above.

No one complained about the course when DI Regionals and DII collegiate races were held there this year. Weird.

Beckham wrote:

No one complained about the course when DI Regionals and DII collegiate races were held there this year. Weird.

I did not know about those events and I'm guessing they weren't using the 5k course. Had a team in one of those events posted the fastest ever team total, I bet someone would have complained and questioned the course. Right?

Yes because NAU wasn't in that region.

bald loser wrote:

Yes because NAU wasn't in that region.

Nau wouldn't run hard at Regionals anyway