CRR Online - Runner Rankings

By: Roger Hopper

Feel free to contact me with any corrections, suggestions, or questions, and especially with any results I may have missed.

Rankings Overview

Some of you may be familiar with James Moreland's "Regional Runner Rankings" for Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., which can be found at www.potomacriverrunning.com/regional-runner-rankings. Moreland's rankings inspired me to come up with a regional ranking of my own, though this will have a much more local flavor. Using my knowledge of Hampton Roads' runners and races, I plan to release a seasonal top 25 road runner ranking for residents of the area as well as a select few others who, while not currently living here, consistently compete in Hampton Roads and have strong ties within our local running community. I don't claim to be perfect, but I will do my best to provide accurate rankings that hopefully most people will agree with. Like Moreland's rankings, two races per season will be required to qualify, with the higher quality race being primarily used to determine the position in the ranking. The second race will be used to differentiate runners who are very close in the rankings. Head-to-head matchups, course difficulty, and weather conditions will be taken into consideration, though I am not omniscient. All races in Hampton Roads for which I can find results will be considered, as will any major races in the surrounding area at which many Hampton Roads natives compete, and any results I see from locals at races elsewhere. It can be difficult to compare performances across different distances and courses, and I will use various tables to try to evaluate times as accurately as possible. A best 10K equivalent time will be provided as an intermediate for direct comparison across distances ranging from 5K to ultramarathon. I'll be reviewing all aspects of these rankings with local running guru Rick Platt to ensure some quality control beyond my own efforts, as well as an unbiased perspective for ranking myself. I hope these rankings turn into something fun that will enrich and motivate the local running community while serving as a record of the competitive local running scene from season to season, year to year. Ranked runners will be able to see how their rankings trend from season to season. Top age grades in each category, including all over 80%, will be provided to see how runners match up on a level playing field.

Past Rankings

Annual Overview

Like my seasonal runner rankings, my annual rankings are inspired by James Moreland's "Regional Runner Rankings" for Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., which can be found at www.potomacriverrunning.com/regional-runner-rankings Like Moreland's annual rankings, in order to make my yearly "Best Of", runners must be ranked in at least two seasons during the year they are ranked. Every runner ranked in at least two seasons during the year will be ranked here. The annual rankings won't have my usual commentary - for season-by-season commentary, see the seasonal editions of my rankings. There is a lot to be said for runners who compete well across multiple seasons during the year, especially at a high level, and it is fun to see how our performances and seasonal rankings change throughout the year and stack up against one another. Most saliently, these rankings will include all of the best local runners' best performances in one place.