Anonymous wrote:XC is sort of fun for those in the top 10 but not sure how much fun it is for the kids that don’t get to run at meets. And it is not a team sport- there is no one to help you out. It is a lot of work too

This isn’t true for the best teams - the teams that have enough good runners to run in a pack really help each other out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:XC is sort of fun for those in the top 10 but not sure how much fun it is for the kids that don’t get to run at meets. And it is not a team sport- there is no one to help you out. It is a lot of work too

Most of the meets take ~30 kids, but yes, I can see the frustration for kids 31-50. I don't love how in this area dual meets are the JV meet, but I get it. It's just weird to me how no one is into those weekday meets. I remember racing twice a week, but my area was NOT really into it overall. Haha

Can someone explain dual meets for those of us who are new to this?

For FCPS, it's the weekday evening meets. The shorthand is 'dual meet,' but because there are so few runners sometimes it is 3-4 teams all from the same District. Weekend meets are usually big invitationals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:XC is sort of fun for those in the top 10 but not sure how much fun it is for the kids that don’t get to run at meets. And it is not a team sport- there is no one to help you out. It is a lot of work too

Most of the meets take ~30 kids, but yes, I can see the frustration for kids 31-50. I don't love how in this area dual meets are the JV meet, but I get it. It's just weird to me how no one is into those weekday meets. I remember racing twice a week, but my area was NOT really into it overall. Haha

Can someone explain dual meets for those of us who are new to this?

For today, Georgetown Visitation had the #1 runner and Robinson had #2-5. There was 30 seconds between 1 and 2

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:XC is sort of fun for those in the top 10 but not sure how much fun it is for the kids that don’t get to run at meets. And it is not a team sport- there is no one to help you out. It is a lot of work too

Our school sends all levels of runners to meets so maybe it is school dependent.

That’s true at DD’s school as well. In track, they only take the varsity kids to weekend invitationals, but in XC, everyone goes. (That could be because the team isn’t huge and they’re not that good.)

Anonymous wrote:XC is sort of fun for those in the top 10 but not sure how much fun it is for the kids that don’t get to run at meets. And it is not a team sport- there is no one to help you out. It is a lot of work too

Most of the meets take ~30 kids, but yes, I can see the frustration for kids 31-50. I don't love how in this area dual meets are the JV meet, but I get it. It's just weird to me how no one is into those weekday meets. I remember racing twice a week, but my area was NOT really into it overall. Haha

Anonymous wrote:XC is sort of fun for those in the top 10 but not sure how much fun it is for the kids that don’t get to run at meets. And it is not a team sport- there is no one to help you out. It is a lot of work too

Our school sends all levels of runners to meets so maybe it is school dependent.

West Springfield is at a race in Ohio. Robinson is out in Loudoun County and Woodson is doing the Braddock Relay (which is fun but not really a XC meet). I think they will all run at Oatlands (which is state meet course) at end of September. All three teams have girls that are not seniors to keep an eye on.

XC is sort of fun for those in the top 10 but not sure how much fun it is for the kids that don’t get to run at meets. And it is not a team sport- there is no one to help you out. It is a lot of work too

Anonymous wrote:What do you want to know or to discuss?

Nothing in particular, just interested in learning more about it as I am a new parent to the sport. I've had other kids play other sports, and I've actually learned quite a bit on forums like this. No agenda, it's supposed to be fun and positive, which is my overall impression of the XC culture so far.

Stealing from another thread to get things started . . .

The top girls teams in the DC area from last year based on best times in hypothetical race would have been as follows:

West Springfield, VA - Team Time (1st 5) 1:30:27.0
James Robinson, VA - Team Time (1st 5) 1:30:27.1
Georgetown Visitation Prep, DC - Team Time (1st 5) 1:33:21.0
Bethesda-Chevy Chase, MD - Team Time (1st 5) 1:34:45.7
W T Woodson, VA - Team Time (1st 5) 1:34:53.6

Of course many of the teams have graduated good senior runners that have been replaced, but this list is probably a pretty good starting point.

The DyeStat Southeast regional early season rankings came out recently and the following local teams are included:

Robinson - #3
West Springfield - #5
Woodson - Watchlist

Langley has been described as having some talented young runners and could be ascending.

There are several races in the area tomorrow to really get the season going in full swing.

What do you want to know or to discuss?

If you are interested in DMV cross country, this thread is for you. This one's for the girls!