The fall ranking period is always one in which ranking runners is a Herculean task. We included 113 races run between September 9 and November 19. In addition, nearly 450 runners met the requirements for being ranked, and there were more than 2500 qualifying times run. The men's open division alone had nearly 300 qualifying times turned in during the fall period. With a plethora of big races and runners turning up for head-to-head competition frequently, there were many tight battles for ranking spots, with runners going up against the same people more than once--often with different outcomes, based on course terrain and distance. And, with almost 115 races being considered, there were many runners who slipped quietly into ranking spots by beating top runners at smaller area races. This was a very exciting ranking period, and we hope you enjoy these rankings, and we look forward to seeing you all out at area races working your way toward a winter ranking. But before we begin the rankings, here are just a few words about how to get ranked, for those of you unsure of exactly what you need to accomplish to find your name in the Runner Rankings.

How to Get Ranked

Runners must meet the qualifying time twice in a given ranking period as the first step toward being ranked. We take a number of things into consideration when we do the rankings--best performance, races run, number of races run, distances tackled, and results. Which of those factors is most important tends to vary depending on how much head-to-head competition there was in the age group. In order for a race to be included in the rankings, the race must have:

Full race results available on the Web, or submitted to the Washington Running Report no later than close of business the Thursday following the end of the ranking period.

Been run in Virginia, Washington, DC, or Maryland. Due to the number of qualifying races being run in the Washington Running Report's region, it has become impossible for us to include results from out-of-area races.

At least 50 participants.

What exactly do you need to do to be ranked? First, you must meet the 10K equivalent time standard in at least two included races in any given ranking period:

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

How You Can Help

Please, send us your race results in a timely manner, and they need to be complete results. We cannot use partial results, because it simply requires too much guesswork and uncertainty as to whether there could have been a few more runners making the cut. Also, it is of utmost importance that you list all the details, like gender, age, and hometown. Of course, in this electronic age, some electronic form of the results is preferable to hard copy. If possible, please use space or comma delimited fields for name, age, hometown, and time when posting or submitting electronic results.

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, or directly to Dot Collins at dotc@home.com

And now, what you've been waiting for, the Fall 2000 rankings.