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RunningLane XC Speed vs. 5K Track - Tentative Stat Data
Bill Meylan (Mar 23, 2022)
RunningLane Cross Country Championship races have been contested on December 4, 2021 and November 21, 2020 at the John Hunt Running Park in Huntsville, Alabama. The championship XC courses at the John Hunt Running Park (5K, 6K, 8K and 10K) began course construction in 2018 ... the courses are dedicated running lanes constructed with manicured grass surfaces for high school, college and USATF events.
High School results from The Southern Showcase in Sept 2020 indicated the 5K John Hunt course was exceptionally fast, and that was confirmed at the RunningLane Championship on November 21, 2020 when Jenna Hutchins became the first US high school girl to break 16:00 for the 5K cross country distance (and a majority of runners set 5K XC PRs) ... and more exceptionally fast times occurred at the RunningLane Championship on December 4, 2021 (four male runners were faster than the existing fastest-ever mark of 14:10.4 set by Dathan Ritzenhein in 2000; and again, a majority of runners set 5K XC PRs).
Can Grass Be Fast?
Properly constructed and manicured grass surfaces have
been proven to be fast running surfaces for both humans and horses. Since
this article is about humans
, a good example
would be the New Zealand runner Peter Snell who set Track World Records
for the Mile (3:54.4) and 800 meters (1:44.3) on
natural grass surface tracks in 1962 ... Links to some Peter Snell results at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UtoLeBBDA
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/peter-snell-breaks-world-mile-record
Grass courses for XC can be very fast if constructed and manicured correctly ... and the John Hunt Running Park 5K is a dedicated course designed to be fast ... the only such course in the US that I am aware of.
How Fast is RunningLane Compared to a Modern Synthetic Track?
One method of approximating the relative speed of RunningLane (the John Hunt Running Park 5K) to a modern synthetic track (200m-400m indoor or outdoor track) is the following ... Compare the times run at RunningLane XC to times run at 5K track races by the same runners.
It would be best if the two races were run relatively close to each other date-wise ... Similar fitness levels would be a helpful criteria for accuracy, and many running at the same events would help as well ... Runners have variable performances on different days and different seasons which adds another parameter to consider.
I decided to post this article at this time for one reason ... The Texas Distance Festival was held this past weekend which contested both boys and girls 5K track races (on March 19th) ... a quick name match with the RunningLane XC Gold races found 24 runners that ran both the RunningLane XC Gold and the Texas Distance Festival 5K track races ... The runners and their respective times and time differences between the two races are listed below ... The following statistics are calculated from the time differences:
... Total Number Runners: 24
... Number negative values: 7 (faster at RunningLane)
... Number positive values: 17 (slower at RunningLane)
... Median Difference: 5.9 seconds (slower at RunningLane)
... Mean Difference: 10.2 seconds (slower at RunningLane)
Overall, RunningLane was about 6 seconds slower than the Texas Distance Festival 5K based on median difference and about 10 seconds slower based on mean (average) difference ... If potential outliers are excluded, the median/mean numbers stay about the same.
Jenna Mulhern finished 4th at RunningLane
XC (16:29.51) and 3rd at Eastbay XC Nationals (17:20.80), so she can be
considered as one of the elite XC runners of the 2021 season ... Interestingly, she
ran three 5K track races between Oct 2021 and Mar 2022 (which shows typical variability between races):
... 16:25.22 - Garden State Twilight 5000 - Oct 09, 2021
... 16:17.47 - Camel City Elite - Feb 05, 2022
... 16:31.29 - New Balance Nationals Indoor - Mar 13, 2022
... 16:29.51 - RunningLane XC Gold - Dec 4, 2021
Using Jenna Mulhern's best 5K track race (a 16:17.47 effort indoors against college runners, and the 9th fastest indoor HS girl's 5K of all-time) shows about a 12 second difference between RunningLane and a 5K track race.
There are other examples that indicate a difference ... Jenna Hucthins won RunningLane 2020 in 15:58.42 and the set the HS outdoor 5K track record in 15:34.47 (a 23.95 seconds difference) and Justin Wachtel (at the same 5K track meet as Jenna Hutchins) ran 14:15.35 after running 14:36.08 at RunningLane (however, MileSplit lists his best 5K XC time as 14:26.91).
Other examples are available, but based on all the data I have seen (and I wish there was more), I currently think that the RunningLane XC course is on the order of 10-15 seconds slower than a 5K track race under good conditions ... and that range is clearly variable from runner-to-runner ... Under excellent conditions on the track (great weather & pacing assistance), the range may be higher.
Fastest High School 5K Cross Country Runners of All-Time
Tables below list the Fastest Boys and Fastest Girls on 5K cross country courses as taken from the MileSplit XC Database (fastest performance only of each runner).
For the Boys, 14 of the fastest 21 XC runners of all-time ran their performance at RunningLane 2021 ... To say that is
amazing is an under-statement
... Reuben Reina (fastest runner ever at Foot Locker Balboa Park,
14:36.80) does not make the top 70 of all-time ... If Dathan Ritzenhein's Michigan
State Meet performance is excluded, he would rank only 29th fastest of all-time
(his 14:29.83 at Foot Locker Orlando in 1999 ... the best ranking for any Foot
Locker performance by the boys).
RunningLane performances stack the top fastest performances for two reasons:
The Foot Locker courses are not nearly as fast as
RunningLane ... The same can be said for the NXN National courses ... The top HS
runners in the US have raced at the end of the season under championship
conditions for many years, but not on a course like RunningLane.
The lists of the Fastest Boys and Fastest Girls on 5K cross country courses of all-time are interesting ... But for handicapping purposes, they have little application for "betting the rent money" unless the times are adjusted for the inherent speeds of the different courses and races.
Comparing RunningLane and Texas Distance Festival for Time Differences Between the Two Races
(Positive Time Differ = slower at RunningLane)
(Negative Time Differ = slower at Texas Distance Fest)
RunningLane XC Texas Distance Festival 5K Time
---------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- Differ
Name Gr School Time Speed Rating Name Gr School Time (secs)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- -------
BOYS:
Alberto Rayon 11 Grapevine 15:09.21 180.93 181 Alberto Rayon 11 Unattached 15:04.45 4.76
Brian Guevara 12 Grapevine 15:35.22 172.26 172 Brian Guevara 12 Unattached 15:37.37 -2.15
David Fisher 11 Southlake Carroll 15:06.91 181.70 182 David Fisher 11 Unattached 15:38.93 -32.02
Drew Brill 11 LaSalle College 15:29.10 174.30 174 Drew Brill 11 Unattached 15:03.71 25.39
Hunter Hill 11 Southlake Carroll 15:34.24 172.59 173 Hunter Hill 11 Unattached 15:39.64 -5.40
Jayden Nats 12 Mountain Vista 14:55.08 185.64 186 Jayden Nats 12 Unattached 14:49.80 5.28
Josue Granados 12 Grapevine 15:08.98 181.01 181 Josue Granados 12 Unattached 15:06.27 2.71
Riley Nedrow 11 Flower Mound 15:43.91 169.36 169 Riley Nedrow 11 Unattached 15:31.47 12.44
Ryan Mclaughlin 12 Harding Charter Prep 15:33.84 172.72 173 Ryan Mclaughlin 12 Unattached 16:17.99 -44.15
Trey Leathers 12 Grapevine 15:05.21 182.26 182 Trey Leathers 12 Unattached 15:05.07 0.14
Ty Garrett 11 Valor Christian 14:58.32 184.56 185 Ty Garrett 11 Unattached 14:47.69 10.63
Walker St. John 12 Grapevine 15:04.00 182.67 183 Walker St. John 12 Unattached 14:30.59 33.41
Zachary Brill 12 LaSalle College 15:29.47 174.18 174 Zachary Brill 12 Unattached 15:07.51 21.96
GIRLS:
Adelynn Rodriguez 9 El Paso Eastwood 17:42.21 131.93 132 Adelynn Rodriguez 9 Unattached 18:22.21 -40.00
Alexandra Walsh 10 Southlake Carroll 18:50.50 109.17 109 Alexandra Walsh 10 Unattached 17:26.96 83.54
Allison Buemi 12 Flower Mound 18:48.29 109.90 110 Allison Buemi 12 Unattached 18:17.99 30.30
Amy Morefield 11 Lucas Lovejoy 17:44.22 131.26 131 Amy Morefield 11 Unattached 17:45.06 -0.84
Aubrey O'Connell 12 Prosper 17:41.51 132.16 132 Aubrey O'Connell 12 Unattached 17:37.07 4.44
Ava Bushaw 11 Southlake Carroll 17:59.41 126.20 126 Ava Bushaw 11 Unattached 18:08.10 -8.4
Joy Gill 12 San Antonio Home Sch 17:33.73 134.76 135 Joy Gill 12 Unattached 17:13.13 20.60
Natalie Ng 11 Southlake Carroll 19:01.92 105.36 105 Natalie Ng 11 Unattached 18:30.43 31.49
Peyton Benson 10 Lucas Lovejoy 19:00.60 105.80 106 Peyton Benson 10 Unattached 18:26.06 34.54
Samantha Humphries 10 Flower Mound 17:39.98 132.67 133 Samantha Humphries 10 Unattached 16:50.21 49.77
Sylvia Schwedler 10 Southlake Carroll 18:02.03 125.32 125 Sylvia Schwedler 10 Unattached 17:55.45 6.58
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Fastest Boys of All-Time - 5K Cross Country Race according to MileSplit XC 5K Database 1 - 14:03.29 - 2021 - Colin Sahlman -- Newbury Park (SS) - CA - RunningLane Champ 2 - 14:05.07 - 2021 - Leo Young -- Newbury Park (SS) - CA - RunningLane Champ 3 - 14:05.49 - 2021 - Lex Young -- Newbury Park (SS) - CA - RunningLane Champ 4 - 14:09.91 - 2021 - Zane Bergen -- Niwot - CO - RunningLane Champ 5 - 14:10.40 - 2000 - Dathan Ritzenhein -- Rockford - MI - MHSAA State Champ LP 6 - 14:10.56 - 2021 - Riley Hough -- Hartland - MI - RunningLane Champ 7 - 14:14.02 - 2019 - Ryan Schoppe -- La Porte - TX - UIL State Champ 8 - 14:14.26 - 2019 - Leo Daschbach -- Highland High - AZ - Desert Twilight Fest 9 - 14:14.38 - 2021 - Aaron Sahlman -- Newbury Park (SS) - CA - RunningLane Champ 10 - 14:16.01 - 2019 - Cole Sprout -- Valor Christian - CO - Desert Twilight Fest 11 - 14:18.43 - 2021 - Aidan Cox -- Coe Brown Academy - NH - RunningLane Champ 12 - 14:18.70 - 2012 - Edward Cheserek -- St. Benedict's Prep - NJ - Essex County Champ 13 - 14:20.80 - 2015 - Drew Hunter -- Loudoun Valley - VA - Third Battle Inv 14 - 14:22.14 - 2021 - Jackson Barna -- Ridge HS - NJ - RunningLane Champ 15 - 14:23.32 - 2021 - Kole Mathison -- Carmel - IN - RunningLane Champ 16 - 14:23.78 - 2021 - Isaac Teeples -- Kamiakin - WA - RunningLane Champ 17 - 14:24.00 - 2007 - German Fernandez -- Riverbank (SJ) - CA - CIF State Champ 18 - 14:24.16 - 2021 - Gary Martin -- Archbishop Wood - PA - RunningLane Champ 19 - 14:24.30 - 2021 - Tayson Echohawk -- Orem - UT - RunningLane Champ 20 - 14:25.64 - 2021 - Shane Brosnan -- Union Catholic Reg - NJ - RunningLane Champ 21 - 14:25.76 - 2021 - Rendon Kuykendall -- Hope Christian - NM - RunningLane Champ 22 - 14:26.91 - 2019 - Justin Wachtel -- Mary Persons - GA - Alexander/Asics Inv 23 - 14:26.94 - 2020 - Parker Wolfe -- Cherry Creek - CO - RunningLane Champ 24 - 14:27.25 - 2012 - Bernie Montoya -- Cibola - AZ - Division 1 Sect 1 25 - 14:28.00 - 2012 - Sean McGorty -- Chantilly - VA - Foot Locker South 26 - 14:28.50 - 2019 - Nico Young -- Newbury Park (SS) - CA - CIF State Champ 27 - 14:29.30 - 2021 - Tyrone Gorze -- Crater - OR - Crater Twilight 28 - 14:29.32 - 2019 - Silas Winders -- Henry County - TN - Alexander/Asics Inv 29 - 14:29.95 - 2017 - Zach Kreft -- Buckeye Valley - OH - Midwest MOC 30 - 14:30.29 - 2021 - Connor McCormick -- Longmont - CO - RunningLane Champ 31 - 14:30.40 - 2019 - Evan Holland -- Ashland - OR - OSAA State Champ 32 - 14:31.70 - 2014 - Tanner Anderson -- North Central - WA - WIAA State Champ 33 - 14:32.00 - 2004 - Andrew Bumbalough -- Brentwood Academy - DC - Foot Locker South 34 - 14:32.20 - 2016 - Brodey Hasty -- Brentwood - TN - Great American Fest 35 - 14:32.40 - 2016 - David Principe Jr -- La Salle Academy - RI - Great American Fest 36 - 14:32.50 - 2013 - Conner Mantz -- Sky View - UT - Utah Region 5 Champ 36 - 14:32.50 - 2015 - Phillip Rocha -- Arcadia (SS) - CA - Stanford Invite 38 - 14:32.70 - 2013 - Matthew Maton -- Summit - OR - George Fox Classic 39 - 14:33.43 - 2019 - Graydon Morris -- Aledo - TX - UIL State Champ 40 - 14:33.85 - 1999 - Donald Sage -- York - IL - Foot Locker National 41 - 14:33.94 - 2021 - Jimmy Wischusen -- Union Catholic Reg - NJ - RunningLane Champ 42 - 14:34.00 - 2009 - Craig Lutz -- Lewisville Marcus - TX - Foot Locker South 43 - 14:34.10 - 2004 - Scott MacPherson -- Plano Senior HS - TX - Texas State Champ 44 - 14:34.66 - 2021 - James Crabtree -- Sherwood - OR - RunningLane Champ |
Fastest Girls of All-Time - 5K Cross Country Race according to MileSplit XC 5K Database 1 - 15:58.42 - 2020 - Jenna Hutchins -- Science Hill - TN - RunningLane Champ 2 - 16:03.93 - 2021 - Natalie Cook -- Flower Mound - TX - RunningLane Champ 3 - 16:06.87 - 2018 - Katelyn Tuohy -- North Rockland - NY - Ocean State Invitational 4 - 16:12.00 - 2019 - Brynn Brown -- Denton Guyer - TX - MileSplit TX XC Invite 5 - 16:19.00 - 2020 - Sydney Thorvaldson -- Rawlins - WY - Heritage Distance Classic 6 - 16:22.81 - 2021 - Lily Cridge -- Bishop Chatard - IN - RunningLane Champ 7 - 16:23.40 - 2015 - Katie Rainsberger -- Air Academy - CO - Desert Twilight XC Fest 8 - 16:24.10 - 2001 - Amber Trotter -- Ukiah (NC) - CA - Foot Locker Nationals 9 - 16:26.00 - 2006 - Aurora Scott -- Oaktree Academy - VA - Foot Locker South Reg 10 - 16:28.38 - 2021 - Riley Stewart -- Cherry Creek - CO - RunningLane Champ 11 - 16:29.00 - 2015 - Weini Kelati -- Heritage (Leesburg) - VA - Third Battle Invite 12 - 16:29.51 - 2021 - Jenna Mulhern -- Unattached - PA - PA - RunningLane Champ 13 - 16:30.00 - 2019 - Marlee Starliper -- Northern - PA - LVC Dutchmen Invite 14 - 16:30.30 - 2017 - Claudia Lane -- Malibu (SS) - CA - CIF State Champ 15 - 16:31.12 - 2012 - Amy-Eloise Neale -- Glacier Peak - WA - Sundodger Invitational 16 - 16:32.00 - 2006 - Kathy Kroeger -- Independence - TN - Foot Locker South Reg 17 - 16:32.10 - 2015 - Fiona O'Keeffe -- Davis (SJ) - CA - Stanford Invitational 18 - 16:35.00 - 2013 - Alexa Efraimson -- Camas - WA - Bill Dellinger Invite 19 - 16:35.30 - 2018 - Grace Connolly -- Natick - MA - Brown Northeast Invite 20 - 16:36.00 - 1990 - Melody Fairchild -- Boulder - CO - Pueblo Central Invite 20 - 16:36.00 - 2019 - Margot Appleton -- Portsmouth Abbey - RI - NEPSTA Division 3 Champ 22 - 16:36.18 - 2015 - Nevada Mareno -- Leesville Road - NC - CAP 8 Conference Champ 23 - 16:36.86 - 2018 - London Culbreath -- McKinney North - TX - McNeil Invitational 24 - 16:37.20 - 2021 - Dalia Frias -- Mira Costa (SS) - CA - RunningLane Champ 25 - 16:37.70 - 2019 - Guadalupe Garcia -- Agua Dulce - TX - UIL State Championship 26 - 16:38.30 - 2018 - Ashlyn Hillyard -- Plano Senior HS - TX - UIL State Championship 27 - 16:40.00 - 2012 - Sarah Baxter -- Simi Valley (SS) - CA - CIF State Champ 27 - 16:40.00 - 2014 - Allie Ostrander -- Kenai Central - AK - Palmer Invitational 29 - 16:40.20 - 2021 - Caroline Wells -- Winter Springs HS - FL - Hagerty Invitational 30 - 16:40.40 - 1981 - Connie Robinson -- Reading - NC - Kinney Champ 30 - 16:40.40 - 2021 - Lauren Ping -- Desert Vista - AZ - Desert Twilight XC Fest 32 - 16:40.56 - 2014 - Devin Clark -- Smithson Valley - TX - UIL 6A - District 25 33 - 16:40.90 - 2010 - Aisling Cuffe -- Cornwall - NY - Great American Festival 33 - 16:40.90 - 2020 - Sophie Atkinson -- Katy Cinco Ranch - TX - UIL 6A - District 19 33 - 16:40.90 - 2021 - Kate Peters -- Lake Oswego - OR - Nike Portland XC 36 - 16:41.41 - 2020 - Tatum David -- IMG Academy - IL - Desert Twilight XC Fest 37 - 16:41.42 - 2006 - Ashley Brasovan -- Wellington HS - FL - flrunners.com Invite 38 - 16:41.90 - 1994 - Julia Stamps -- Santa Rosa (NC) - CA - Foot Locker Nationals 39 - 16:42.60 - 2020 - Analee Weaver -- Stillwater - MN - Forest Lake SEC Tri 40 - 16:42.98 - 2014 - Dani Jones -- Desert Vista - AZ - Desert Twilight XC Fest 41 - 16:43.15 - 2021 - Samantha Mcdonnell -- Newbury Park (SS) - CA - RunningLane Champ |