The fall ranking period is traditionally one of the largest, and includes races that draw competitors not only from around the country, but from around the world. This year, due to world events, several large races, namely the Army Ten Miler, were cancelled. Be this as it may, the enthusiastic and talented Washington running community ventured out to smaller races and turned in some terrific performances in their local races. Despite reports of decreased runner participation there were still nearly 1800 qualifying times run, and well over 300 runners who earned rankings during the fall period. Certainly, credit belongs to the entire Washington running community for continuing to come out and support our local races. So, we are pleased to present the fall 2001 rankings.

How to Get Ranked

But first, for those not familiar with our Runner Rankings, here is a little information on how to go about getting 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--head-to-head competition, average times, number of races included, and performance at big races. We also took into account the number of qualifying times posted, as well as, in some cases, the variety of race distances tackled.

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.
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.

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

Also, if you want to be ranked and find yourself running races out of the area, or for some reason feel you aren't getting proper consideration, please drop a line to the Washington Running Report via e-mail to the Editor: kathy@runwashington.com.

We are currently in the winter ranking period, which runs from November 24, 2001 to March 10, 2002, and will be reported in the May-June issue. The March-April issue will present the best of the best for the year 2001.

Races Used in this Ranking Period

3M 5K: Racing to Save Lives
AllTell Capital City 10K
Avon Running 5K
Back to School Classic 8K
Baltimore Marathon/Fila 5K
Beach Ford All American 5K
Becca's Run 5K
Bluemont Fair 10K
Dawson's 5 Miler
DCRRC National Capital 20 Miler/5 Miler
Edgemoor Classic 5K
Fair Lakes 8K 
FOP Ten Miler
Franklin Square Hospital 5K
Georgetown Classic 10K 
Goblin Gallop 5K
Great Allegany Run 15K
Great Frederick Fair 5K
Harrisonburg 10 Miler/5K
Herndon Turkey Trot 5K
Hilton Village 5K
Holiday House 5K
IND Race For Energy 5K
Jones Falls 8K
Jug Bay 10K
Kensington 8K
Komen MD Race for the Cure 5K
Larchmont RAT Race 5K
LAWS Run for Shelter Half Marathon/5K
Lu McGowan 5K
Lynchburg BB&T 10 Miler/4 Miler
Make A Wish UAW GM 10K/5K
Marine Corps Marathon
Mariners 10K
Maryland Veterans 10K/5K
Montgomery Marathon in the Parks 
Neptune Festival 8K
Norfolk 5K
Norfolk Half Marathon
Norfolk YMCA Waterside Stride 5K
NTELOS 8K
Outback Steakhouse Corridor Classic 8K
Paul VI Runfest 5K
Phar-Mor Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 5K
Police Pace 5K
Poolesville Day 5K
Potomac 5K
Quantico Half Marathon
Race At the Ridge 5K
ROCKS 5 Miler
Rockville MTA 10K/5K
Round Robinson 5K
Run For Cooperative Development 5K
Run For Kathy 5K
Run for Randi
Run for Read 5K
Run Through the Grapevine 8K
Run with the Gators 5K
Solomon's Run for Cancer 5K
Spring Valley 5K
Star City 5K
Star City Half Marathon
SunTrust Richmond Marathon
Toys for Tots 5K
United We Stand 10K
Van Metre 5 Miler
Vanguard National Run for Recovery 5K
Virginia Naturally 5K
Western Branch YMCA Y5k
Wings over Loudon
Zack's Run 5K