Posted by Leif Irgens on November 05, 2006 at 12:38:13:
In Reply to: Let's mix it up a bit. posted by Victor Birch on November 05, 2006 at 12:07:29:
I'm in favor of a change that weights longer races. Believe it or don't, I made a push for this shortly after I moved here about seven years ago and was told that it wasn't the first time such a campaign had been launched. The reason given for not wanting to change was that the same people would have won regardless of the system used for rating the races.
I'm happy to support another campaign for a different system. To me, it seems unfair to rate the shorter and longer races for one key reason. That being:
Since most of the GP races are shorter events, a ratings system would give people who do better at the longer distances a chance to make up some ground on people they can't quite manage to out-run over 5k. A good example of this would have been the last time I made a run for a top GP placing a few years ago. An un-named pacer and I had a grand battle in the GP with me being able to clock this individual with ease at distances over 10k but it being quite a contest at 5k. A system rating the race distances would have generated a different outcome - one more relevant in my opinion, given the heavy presence of 5k races in the GP schedule. (And no, I'm not bitter, I'm just using this of as an example of how the large number of short races can creat a bias towards the 5k talent).
I'd propose a slightly different system from Victor's - I'd suggest a system that multiplies a point total by the race distance in km (since most of our races are an exact number of km). For example, if one wins a 5k, that's:
5 km x 10 points = 50 points
For a win in the Holiday Half, that would be:
21 km x 10 points = 210 points.
With such a system, I'd also include the First Light Marathon in the GP (Even though I'm unlikely to ever be able to run it) in order to give the distance specialists a chance at the GP title . . . not to menation that a primo performance at 1st Light could require enough recovery time to wipe out the next 3-4 GP events on the schedule.
Oh, by the way Victor, you don't have to worry about me in the GP this year. Not only can I not seem to beat you at any distance, I forgot to re-up my Pacer Membership so I've lost too much ground this season, even if I could manage to get myself to be faster than you again. : (