Discussion: Must be quick

Seeing as I have a longer distance to run in the Sprint (3.0 km) than the Middle Distance (2.9km). Given that the 3km is probably straight line distance we are looking at well below 4:30 per km to get in below 15 minutes. The quickest I've gone as an M55 is 4:36 in the 2011 Aus Champs - that was 3.5km (actual distance) in 15:57 (tied with Geoff Lawford for 1st).

The sprint distances were a preliminary estimate before any courses were actually set - the final numbers (which should come out in the next day or two) are a fair bit lower than that (low 2s straight-line for you if I recall correctly). M21E is 2.7 straight line, 4.0 on the GPS when I test-ran it (though there's been a little fine-tuning since then).

You mentioned difficulty with setting the very easy courses; in 2010 SA didn't offer M/W10, reasoning that on a sprint map only an easy course can be managed. We did get some complaints from parents of M/W10s who were forced to run M/W12 and were thereby perceived to have been done out of placegetting.

It would be near impossible to meet the VE course criteria on a sprint map, a flag at every turn would mean many flags were less than the minimum distance apart, and this would probably compromise most of the longer courses too. In '11 at Mandurah 10s were a separate class on the same course as 12s, and I don't think any parents were particularly worried about the course being too difficult. There weren't many entries (in either 10 or 12) but all finished in reasonable times. We were going to offer 10N, but realised that of the 10Ns at Easter only one was staying for the Sprint. He ended up as EOD.

I'm certainly hoping my course isn't 2.5 as advertised.