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Posted by Runnin' down a dream on October 27, 2009, 1:04 am
Could we be runnin' in the rain?
I'm planning on going to the state cross country meet Saturday at Cabell Midland High School.
"Cabell Midland’s cross country course offers a balanced combination of hills and flats that is one of the best groomed courses in the state. The course runs on the campus of Cabell Midland High School and the Cabell County Farm. It is very spectator friendly and allows coaches to monitor the action closely for the majority of races.
The course starts on the practice football field, located between the school and the football stadium. The start is flat, with a gentle turn at the end of the soccer field fence that takes the runners around the baseball stadium.
The runners reenter the practice field area and continue along the sideline, where spectators standing on the road way line the fence. They then turn right, crossing the access road and dropping into a small dip that takes them onto the band field. The runners run along the edge of the field until they reach the first and toughest climb of the course. The hill begins with a short, steep accent onto the path, then turns right and climbs for the next 300 meters before leveling into the horseshoe. Once in the horseshoe, the course takes the runners back through the woods, and then reverses back into the clearing, bringing the runners to the first mile marker.
After the mile marker, the athletes run for another 50 meters before turning right and descending behind the barn. They then reach a flat path that takes them on a loop through a field, ending at the base of the next climb. The runners climb the hill, running around the front side of the house before connecting to the gravel path. The gravel section begins with a short, steep descent with a sharp left turn at the bottom before leveling, taking the runners around the side of the hill parallel to Howell’s Mill Road. After another downhill, the path moves upward once more for the final climb, ending as the runners lap around a small cemetery.
The runners continue on the path back towards the barn, returning the runners to the horseshoe. After making a small loop back in the horseshoe that ends just before the 1 mile marker, the runners come through 2 miles.
The final mile of the course is either downhill or flat, making it very fast. Almost immediately following the 2 mile marker the runners start down the hill. They go about half-way before reaching a short hill that takes them on a short downhill loop around the pond. From there, they continue down the hill, running the same path that they did during the first mile, taking them back to the start area.
Upon reaching the start area, the runners turn right and run along the fence line until they reach the softball stadium. The runners run behind the softball stadium then veer to the right and round the baseball stadium again. They then drop back into the dip and round Gabriel’s Curve, turning right and entering the football stadium. The runners complete the final 200m on Chris Parsons Track, finishing at the 50m line in front of the main bleachers."
I checked the weather forcast for the week, and it's supposed to rain with few showers on tuesday, wednesday and friday. I ran cross country in high school and rainy days were my favorite conditions to run in; wet, cloudy and sloppy. I didn't care much about my individual time, I just enjoyed taking a break from direct sunlight and getting as muddy as possible in the course of the 3.1 mile race.
The top runners in the state prefer warm days with little or no wind. There are guys and gals on cross country teams who try hard but don't take the sport too seriously. They enjoy battling the adverse conditions and laughing as they and their fellow runners slip-slide through the race.
There's a talented crop of runners this season, and I'm sure some of the athletes I'll see saturday will still run excellent times, regardless of the rainfall. Specifically, I'm looking forward to seeing the showdown between the AAA Boys - Cabell Midland and Fairmont Senior. If the conditions are wet, sloppy & cold we could see a turn of events in the individual races and team races, which I believe could make for a slower but tactful race. Cabell Midland's 4th & 5th men have come on strong at the end of the season. I also believe they have the course advantage. Win goes to Cabell Midland!
I'm also looking forward to seeing the battle between Dent and Propst, which I feel the rain will benefit Propst. Dent likes to get out fast, but like I said look for slower conditions, which in turn will benefit Letitia who always finishes strong. Propst splits were 6:08 at the mile marker, 12:23 at the two mile marker & finished with a time of 18:28 compared to Dent's splits that were 6:10 at the mile marker, 12:33 at the two mile marker & finished with a time of 19:12, which is a difference of 44 seconds. If history repeats itself Dent will die down the stretch. Last year's top three girls all bettered the old course record, so Dent better conjure up something special. Win goes to Letitia Propst!
In my unbiased opinion, Propst and Pelliccioni are the best runners in the state. Last year in the AAA Boys race Morgantown's Cody Pelliccioni took over about half way into the race and gradually pulled away for a convincing and impressive victory and missing the course record by just 4 seconds. His splits were 5:16 at the mile marker, 10:31 at the two mile marker & he finished in a time of 15:56. Cody has a race strategy and experience that I feel can't be beat. The question is "Who will come in second?"
Hurricane High School has one of the best girls' teams in AAA despite their top runner falling apart in the big meets. Dent and Crouch's top ten finish will put them on top. Both were a 2008 top 10 finisher at state last season. As is, they can expect to be solidly in the state's top 10.
Best of luck to all State Meet qualifiers who are ready to compete this saturday.
Note: course description came from Cabell Midland's web-site
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