The year-end rankings provide an opportunity to look back at the entire year, across all four ranking periods, and determine who the top runners were. Because a full year is used to determine the rankings, the annual rankings present the most accurate picture of whom the top runners were in the year just concluded. The 2003 year-end rankings include 273 rated races in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. To be ranked, a runner must have been ranked in two ranking periods (with the exception of a few age groups, where one-time qualifiers were needed to fill out the list). The youngest qualifier was 13-year-old Aurora Scott of Portsmouth, Virginia, and the oldest was 85-year-old Hedy Marque of Alexandria, Virginia.

Men's Best of 2003 Rankings

Women's Best of 2003 Rankings

The goal of the runner rankings is to rank the best runners of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia in five-year age groups, for the purpose of stimulating competition in the Washington region. Runners are ranked only according to performances in rated races.

Schedule for WRR Runner Rankings
Spring Runner Rankings, March 14, 2004 to May 16, 2004 - reported July-August '04

Summer Runner Rankings, May 17 to September 6 - reported November-December '04

Fall Runner Rankings, September 7 to November 14 - reported January-February '05

Best of 2004 - reported March-April '05

Winter Runner Rankings, November 15, 2004 to March 11, 2005 - reported May-June '05

How to Get Ranked
Runners may be ranked in a ranking period by meeting the following criteria:

- Reside in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia
- Better the time standard in two rated races

A race must meet the following criteria:

- Take place in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia
- Full results listed on the Washington Running Report Web site
- 100+ finishers
- Must list age (and preferably also city and state of residence) of all runners
- Standard distance--5K, 4-mile, 8K, 10K, 12K, 15K, 10-mile, 20K, 1/2 Marathon, 25K, 30K, 20-mile, or Marathon
- Road race or cross-country (not track)

To be included, a race must meet all of the above criteria. There will be no exceptions. If you place well in a race and want it ranked, be sure to ask the race director to e-mail the complete results to the Washington Running Report at office@runwashington.com so the race can be posted on the WRR Web site and counted in the runner rankings.

Runners will be rated by age divisions for both men and women, with the divisions being open, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, and 75 and over. As participation warrants, these age divisions will be extended or combined. The open divisions will be ranked according to gun time, and age groups will be ranked according to chip time, if chip timing is in effect.

The rankings are established using a completely objective rating procedure. The rankings are formed by a preliminary sort, followed by an intensive analysis of competitive results. The preliminary sort is based on number of qualifying marks and best times. The final ranking, though, is based more on head-to-head competitive results against the other top placers, with time playing a secondary role. Our general philosophy is that competition is about beating other runners, and we intend to place an increased emphasis on competitive results. Runners who compete against (and beat) other top competitors in their age group will be rewarded with higher rankings. Time will still play a major role in the rankings, but that role will be secondary to competition.

To qualify for the end-of-year ratings, top priority will go to runners who qualify in two ranking periods. If there are fewer than ten runners, then a top ten will be filled out with single qualifiers. These rankings are also formed by a preliminary sort, followed by a more involved analysis of competitive results. The preliminary sort is based on seasonal rankings and best times. The final ranking is again based more on head-to-head competitive results against the other top placers, with time playing a secondary role.

Qualifying times are set in each age division for the 10K, and then adjusted for other distances using the WAVA age-graded tables. The qualifying standards will be adjusted periodically

Winter 2004 Qualifying Standards for the 10K:

Age Group	Men		Women
Open		32:52		37:43
35-39		35:23*		41:48
40-44		36:06		43:29
45-49		37:26		47:38
50-54		40:15		51:09*
55-59		43:39*		53:40*
60-64		47:09		63:06*
65-69		53:38*		76:24*
70-74		59:03*		93:41*
75+		95:00		99:00
* indicates standards recently changed