High Country Classic vs. Wendy’s – Girls’ History

We told many people yesterday that they should expect much faster times at Wendy’s.  The footing is almost guaranteed to be fast (it can’t get soft, and it takes a flood for wet to matter.)  It is completely flat except for one short hill that is over at half-way.

Below is the proof.  Wendy’s is always the week after High Country Classic.  We have the times for each meet for every single Watauga girl who ran both races in the previous three years of the High Country Classic.  Over the three years, only twice (out of 76 times people ran both races) has someone gone slower at Wendy’s, and the most anyone slowed down was 8 seconds.  Five times people have improved by more than two minutes.  The median improvement is over one minute for two out of three years.

It’s important to recognize that both courses are heavily affected by conditions.  At State Farm, wet weather really softens up the course and can leave muddy patches.  Sort of separate from that, tall grass and soft ground vary from week to week and you just don’t know what you’ll get.  It was wet yesterday, really wet in 2008, and a swamp in 2009, although it wasn’t that much slower in 2009.  Wendy’s is mainly affected by hot weather, which is much worse on the JV runners.  2009 was the only year that it was hot, and also the only year the median improvement wasn’t over a minute.  (Usually JV people improve significantly more, and they did not that year.)  Last year Wendy’s had perfect conditions, which resulted in really big improvements even though High Country Classic had the best conditions of any of the four years.

Remember that the amount of improvement is not necessarily indicative of how good a race you had.  The faster you are, the harder it is to get better.  More importantly, the easiest way to improve a lot is to run really badly in the first race.

2008 Results (HCC time, Wendy’s time, change, name)

• 20:12 19:05  -67      Kayla S.
• 20:34 19:05  -89      Hannah B.
• 20:55 19:36  -69      Amanda C.
• 22:19 20:50  -89      Katherine C.
• 22:34 20:52  -102    Hailey M.
• 23:34 22:39  -55       Ingrid F.
• 23:45 22:46  -59       Hillary P.
• 24:08 23:10  -52      Emma S.
• 24:14 23:06  -68      Jessie N.
• 24:31 24:09  -22      Emily B.
• 24:50 23:42  -68     Molly R.
• 24:56 23:07  -109  Zia A.
• 25:22 23:33  -109  Aiden B.
• 25:25 23:50  -95    Julia R.
• 25:38 25:39  +1      Laiken W.
• 26:26 24:36  -110  Kelsey G.
• 27:41 25:40  -121  Emma B.
• 27:54 26:48  -66    Annie V.
• 28:33 25:01  -212  Kenyon H.
• 28:49 28:07  -42    Chelsea A.
• 30:23 27:13 – 190  Emily M.
• 31:08 29:17  -111   Katy H.
• 31:20 29:45  -95     Kat B.
• 31:21 30:12  -69     Katherine W.

2009 Results 

• 20:21 19:18   -63   Hannah B.
• 20:25 19:32  -53    Kayla S.
• 20:38 20:32  -6     Doria K.
• 20:45 19:54  -51   Amanda C.
• 20:51 19:34  -77   Darby M.
• 21:14 19:47  -87    Hailey M.
• 22:24 21:40  -44   Ingrid F.
• 22:26 21:25  -61    Molly R.
• 22:50 21:35  -75   Madison H.
• 22:40 21:57  -43    Julia R.
• 26:29 23:24  -185  Ledah F.
• 23:29 23:37   +8   Emma S.
• 26:09 25:26  -43   Kaitlyn H.
• 26:10 24:55  -75   Kelsey G.
• 26:34 25:57  -37   Kaley G.
• 26:51 25:37  -74   Kenyon H.
• 27:08 26:49  -19   Rebecca N.
• 27:18 26:55  -23   Chelsea A.
• 27:21 26:47  -34   Emily M.
• 27:27 26:09  -78  Emma B.
• 27:34 24:43  -171 Emily B.
• 27:36 26:27  -67   Mary Ellis B.
• 28:12 28:12     0     Juliana
• 28:46 27:57  -49   Adriana W.

2010 Results

• 19:16 18:24   -52      Darby M.
• 19:59 18:47   -72     Madison H.
• 20:12 18:40   -92     Hannah B.
• 21:05 19:42   -83     Hailey M.
• 21:23 20:42   -41     Molly R.
• 21:36 20:18   -78     Julia R.
• 22:32 21:16   -76      Taylor N.
• 23:38 21:43   -115    Celia J.
• 24:00 22:25   -95     Lynde W.
• 24:23 22:30   -113   Ingrid F.
• 24:59 23:46   -73     Reanna R.
• 25:15 24:04   -71     Kaitlyn H.
• 25:40 23:59   -101   Ledah F.
• 25:50 24:33   -77    Marlie S.
• 25:51 25:01    -50    Juliana B.
• 25:59 25:00   -59    Chelsea A.
• 26:16 25:00   -76    Ann L.
• 26:16 25:27   -49     Sidney W.
• 26:29 25:44   -45     Emily M.
• 26:36 25:44   -52     Jordan T.
• 26:57 25:33   -84     Lauren L.
• 27:01 25:26   -95     Mary Ellis B.
• 27:03 25:12   -111    Allison S.
• 27:33 27:15   -18     Alecia E.
• 27:46 25:59   -107  Michelle T.
• 29:24 28:40   -44    Adriana W.
• 29:48 28:25   -83    Andrea F.
• 30:44 28:53   -111  Mary Kate H.