Regional Course comparisons
- Thread starter CCFREAK
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Runningfast
Active member
Troy was in maybe the best shape I've ever seen it. Very rare that the weather isn't miserable there for the regional meet. The result was the fastest regional meet I can remember (and I've probably been to 30 of them at Troy).
In my opinion, I'd say you have the regional courses ordered correctly. I think that a lot of years Pickerington probably runs just a touch faster than Troy because the flood plane can get real sloppy real fast. From what I remember Pickerington course holds up a little longer in adverse conditions. Boardman always seems to be the slowest (I've never been to this course, but it has a reputation of being challenging).
In my opinion, I'd say you have the regional courses ordered correctly. I think that a lot of years Pickerington probably runs just a touch faster than Troy because the flood plane can get real sloppy real fast. From what I remember Pickerington course holds up a little longer in adverse conditions. Boardman always seems to be the slowest (I've never been to this course, but it has a reputation of being challenging).
psycho_dad
Well-known member
Last year when this came up I remembered that this has been a topic of conversation for the last 15 years or so. So, I decided that I should write down what the conversion/ comparisons were that we landed on. Then, I didn't and here we are again for round 16. This year, maybe we figure it out and pin it, or I'll write them down and there will be 6 more weeks of winter.
Psychodad, if Yappi isn’t good for rehashing the same questions, it’s not good for anything. 
I have coached at the regional meets at Troy and PN, and seen both in a variety of conditions. I have coached at both of the other courses, but never for the regional. Based on the data I keep for a regression model to compare courses, this past weekend was the fastest I have seen at Troy and Pickerington. I will note that my model only includes teams who ran in the same meets that we ran, or that the baseline schools i compare us with ran in.
I used my model to with this years data included. In general, for a 16:45 boy, the Tiffin course is about 22 seconds fast than Troy, which is about 8 seconds faster than Pickerington, which is 20 seconds faster than Boardman. [Note, this has actually changed a bunch in the last four years. Also, I threw out the 2021 results, because all the sites were so messy it skewed the results.]
A more interesting conversation is which site is the best predictor of state meet results. I have found Troy to be closest for that. One interesting fact I have seen is that the closeness of the regional race has a negative impact on state meet performance. In simple terms, if a team had to run a great race at the regional they are a little less likely to perform well the next week at the state meet.
I have coached at the regional meets at Troy and PN, and seen both in a variety of conditions. I have coached at both of the other courses, but never for the regional. Based on the data I keep for a regression model to compare courses, this past weekend was the fastest I have seen at Troy and Pickerington. I will note that my model only includes teams who ran in the same meets that we ran, or that the baseline schools i compare us with ran in.
I used my model to with this years data included. In general, for a 16:45 boy, the Tiffin course is about 22 seconds fast than Troy, which is about 8 seconds faster than Pickerington, which is 20 seconds faster than Boardman. [Note, this has actually changed a bunch in the last four years. Also, I threw out the 2021 results, because all the sites were so messy it skewed the results.]
A more interesting conversation is which site is the best predictor of state meet results. I have found Troy to be closest for that. One interesting fact I have seen is that the closeness of the regional race has a negative impact on state meet performance. In simple terms, if a team had to run a great race at the regional they are a little less likely to perform well the next week at the state meet.
Running Man 101
Well-known member
Agree with all your points. This also links in with the Mason repeat thread. From what I have seen Mason seems to alternate weeks where they race all out. Conference is NOT. District is HARD. Regional (maybe because Troy is a mess a bunch) is NOT, State is HARD.Psychodad, if Yappi isn’t good for rehashing the same questions, it’s not good for anything.
I have coached at the regional meets at Troy and PN, and seen both in a variety of conditions. I have coached at both of the other courses, but never for the regional. Based on the data I keep for a regression model to compare courses, this past weekend was the fastest I have seen at Troy and Pickerington. I will note that my model only includes teams who ran in the same meets that we ran, or that the baseline schools i compare us with ran in.
I used my model to with this years data included. In general, for a 16:45 boy, the Tiffin course is about 22 seconds fast than Troy, which is about 8 seconds faster than Pickerington, which is 20 seconds faster than Boardman. [Note, this has actually changed a bunch in the last four years. Also, I threw out the 2021 results, because all the sites were so messy it skewed the results.]
A more interesting conversation is which site is the best predictor of state meet results. I have found Troy to be closest for that. One interesting fact I have seen is that the closeness of the regional race has a negative impact on state meet performance. In simple terms, if a team had to run a great race at the regional they are a little less likely to perform well the next week at the state meet.
At this point in the season I think the kids have one epic level effort left in them. If they have to use it as Regionals you get the falloff. Troy has been an absolute mess the past few years, so it really is run just as hard as needed to move on.
EuclidandViren
Well-known member
Milesplit has speed rankings and combined for all 4 regions. I usually do not like their speed ratings because they are not even close to accurate. But this merge I believe they are decent except Youngstown. I think Youngstown is skewed and off by about 10-20 seconds. There is no way that only 4 Youngstown boys are in the top 25. There will be more than that at the State meet.
Troy this year was unbelievable. The weather and wind were perfect. The course was hard and flat. Troy still has its rough patches of uneven ground but it was in the best shape I have seen it in over 34 years of attending the regional meet there. As indicated by the times. Usually, 16:20 is the best bet to be top 20 in the boy's D1 race. Not any more. The level of teams has also improved in the last 5 years.
Troy this year was unbelievable. The weather and wind were perfect. The course was hard and flat. Troy still has its rough patches of uneven ground but it was in the best shape I have seen it in over 34 years of attending the regional meet there. As indicated by the times. Usually, 16:20 is the best bet to be top 20 in the boy's D1 race. Not any more. The level of teams has also improved in the last 5 years.