While the winter rankings are generally the smallest rankings we put out, this was a big year for the winter racing season. More than 1,400 qualifying times at more than 70 area races were turned in by runners from all across the region. We are seeing faster, more prolific runners hailing from the southern portion of our region, and it seems that there are more races with at least 100 participants than ever before. If this winter is an indication of things to come for the rest of the year, we expect to see more new faces and faster times than ever before.

Women' s Winter 2002 Rankings

Men's Winter 2002 Rankings

The winter ranking period includes many local favorite races-the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon and the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon, the Jingle Bell Runs for Arthritis, the Potter Homes Turkey Trot and the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K. Perhaps it was the mild winter we had this year, but these races were well attended, as were a host of smaller club runs, like the DCRRC Belle Haven Half Marathon and the B&A Trail Marathon and Half Marathon. This winter, runners were ranked in all twenty age categories, with some of the older age groups showing impressive numbers-the men's 60-64 division had 24 ranked runners this winter and the men's 65-69 had 18.

We hope you find these rankings exciting, and for those of you included in them, we hope they serve as motivation to keep running strong. For those not ranked, perhaps they will serve as extra incentive to improve your times to become a ranked runner.

Before we begin, here are just a few words about how to get ranked, for those of you who are not sure exactly what you need to accomplish to find your name in the Runner Rankings.

How to Get Ranked

First, one must meet the qualifying time twice in at least two included races in a given ranking period. A great many factors go into compiling these rankings-best performance in a season, head-to-head competition, average times, number of races included, and performance at big races. Please consider that in every age group we must make "judgement calls" as many of the talented runners included in these rankings are very close in ability and performance and there is no hard and fast way to determine who had the better season. Keep in mind, the difference of one or two places in the rankings may indicate a very small difference between runners.

In order for a race to be included in the rankings, the race must have:

1. Full race results available on the Web, or submitted to the Washington Running Report. While we try to include all the results we can, if we don't know about your race, or where to find its results, it is less likely that your race will be included in the rankings.

2. Been run in Virginia, Washington, DC, or Maryland. At this time, there are too many races for us to consider races outside this area.

3. Include runners' name, gender, age, and time. We prefer the results to also include hometown and placement information.

4. At least 100 participants. The only exception to this rule is if two (or more) races with less than 100 participants each, but with a total of at least 100 runners, are run on the same course. We have made this exception because we feel that it punishes smaller club runs that offer multiple distances in an attempt to appeal to a wider array of runners, if we require each distance to have 100 participants.

Here are the 10K qualifying times for the different divisions.

All race distances are converted to 10K equivalents: 


Division   Men    Women
Open	  34:20	  41:15
35-39	  36:40	  44:10
40-44	  38:20	  46:05
45-49	  39:45	  48:45
50-54	  42:00	  51:45
55-59	  43:55	  54:30
60-64	  49:45	  62:05
65-69	  52:50	  75:00
70-74	  56:20	  89:40
75-99	  95:00	  99:00

The Ranking Schedule
The spring ranking period began March 16, 2002 and runs until May 19. It will be reported in the July-August '02 issue

The summer ranking period is longer, and runs from May 25 to September 2. It will be reported in the November-December '02 issue.

The fall ranking season begins after Labor Day on September 7 and concludes November 17. It is reported in January- February '03.

The Best of 2002, the year-end rankings, will be reported in March-April '03.

And then the next winter ranking period runs from November 23 to March 9, 2003; it will be reported in May-June '03.

If you have any questions about the Washington Running Report Runner Rankings, please drop a line to the Editor: kathy@runwashington.com.

Races Used in this Ranking Period:

Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon & 5K	
Ashburn Farms Turkey Day 10K	
B&A Trail Marathon & Half Marathon	
B-CC YMCA Turkey Chase 10K 	
BRRC Northern Central Trail Marathon	
Burke Lake 12K	
Carderock 12K	
Carrabas 5K	
Celtic Solstice 5 Miler	
Country Road Run 5 Miler	
CTC New Year's 5K	
Custis Hospice 12K	
DCRRC 25K Championship Race	
DCRRC Belle Haven Half Marathon	
DCRRC Greenbelt 10 Miler	
DCRRC Greenbelt 20 Miler	
DCRRC New Years Day 5K	
DCRRC Turkey Trot 5 Miler	
Falcon 5K RUN	
FCPRD Thanksgiving Day 5K	
Frozen Finger 4 Miler	
George Washington Birthday Classic 10K	
Glen Burnie Jingle Bell Run For Arthritis 8K	
Jamestown High School Swamp Run 5K	
Jennifer Braun 5K	
Jingle Bell 8K - Reston	
Jingle Bell Jog 8K	
Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 10K/5K - Washington	
Jingle Bell Run For Arthritis 5K - Baltimore	
Jingle Bell Run For Arthritis 5K - Solomon's Island	
Over Hillandale 5 Miler	
Peaks Of Otter 10K/5K	
Penguin Pace 5K	
Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon & 5K	
Potter Home's Turkey Trot 5K 	
Red Ribbon Run 5K	
Riverbank 12K 	
Rotary Resolution 10K	
Rotary Turkey Trot 5K	
RRCA 10 Mile Challenge	
Rudolph's Red Nose Run 10K	
Run For Independence 5K	
Santa Claus Shuffle 5K	
Sentara Bayside Hospital 5K	
Shamrock 4 Miler	
Stickman Tandem 5K	
Superbowl 5K	
The 5K Penguin Run-Walk	
Tidewater Striders Tune- Up 10K (2)	
Tidewater Striders Tune- Up 10K (3)	
Tidewater Striders Tune- Up 20K	
Tidewater Striders Tune-Up 25K	
Tidewater Striders Tune-Up 30K	
Tidewater Striders Tune-Up10K (1)	
Towson Turkey Trot 5K	
Toys For Tots Holiday 10K/5K	
Treasure Hunt 5K	
Turkey Burnoff 10 Miler/5 Miler	
Uno's Snowflake Chase 5 Miler	
Virginia Beach Turkey Trot 10K	
Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K	
Washington Birthday 5K	
Washington's Birthday Marathon	
Westernport Turkey Day 5K