Back in the Saddle
My DMs Have More Hokies Than a Thanksgiving Dinner
Okay LOOK — some people are all right part of the time, and some people are partly right all of the time, but nobody’s ALL right ALL of the time. Hey, call me Nostradumbass.
What I mean is that the Hokies proved me wrong. You hear that, Tech? I WAS WRONG. Even an “analyst” as handsome, gregarious, well-paid, and unfailingly punctual as me makes mistakes. Seeing as this was my first incorrect prediction (ignoring all the wrong ones that came before this one), I’d say I’m doing alright1.
Nevertheless, the Hokies love to celebrate a win, as anyone who’s played them in football will tell you2. When VT Club Running swept the Cavalier Invitational last Saturday, I found out about it QUICK. I must have had half of Blacksburg in my DMs, man. And rightfully so! After their men’s team took home a national title from the outdoor season last year, both teams returned to the mountains of Montgomery County and started putting in the miles. Last Saturday, their men’s team scored a 33 and their women’s team scored a 36 to sweep the Cavalier Invitational and win their season opener in style.
I don’t have an enormous amount to say in detail about last week other than this simply because I can’t get my hands on the results. I know that Andrew Quaal (one of those 100 mpw MRun boys I brought up last week) won the Wisco Border Battle men’s race and that some unattached Cincy boys ran fast in Ohio, but that’s about it. Ben Darden, Hokie distance captain, was kind enough to send me a link to the results as soon as they were available (and with no more gloating than I’d earned). So please please please, send me your results from this season, whether they be from tomorrow or from a month ago! I need information to make informed predictions! Speaking of which…
Predictions for Saturday
Florida Running Club Invitational
Registration is closed, and according to the website, only members of the UCF Running Club will be in attendance. So let me be the first to say — congrats to UCF on their win tomorrow!
DC Invitational
Several of the mid-Atlantic’s best will be battling it out at Bull Run Park tomorrow, but I’d keep an eye especially on American3, Georgetown, Delaware, and JMU, whose men's team are fresh of running fast for a second place finish last weekend. Since I'm in the business of predicting now, I'll call it JMU for the fellas, Delaware for the ladies.
Charlotte McAlpine Trail Race
A 5k — and a historically fast one at that — the McAlpine Trail race should see plenty of PRs fall. Last year, seven men ran under 16 minutes, and 37 broke 17.
There’s a number of killer teams on the start list, including Georgia, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, UVA, and Appalachian State. I, however, have learned my lesson about this sort of thing, and I’m betting on another Virginia Tech sweep.
MRun Little Tens Invitational
A paltry seven days after the Wisco Border Battle, several midwestern teams will be back on the line in Michigan, and the rest of us can once again expect fast times. Last year, MRun’s perfect 15 score in the men’s race was broken up by MSU’s Aidan Bustillo, who took fourth. Michigan still swept the men’s 8k and the women’s 6k, and, frankly, I don’t see that changing this year. Notre Dame, MSU, CMU, GVSU — they’re all great teams! But MRun has built something special over the last few years, and based on what I’ve seen so far this year, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Think I’m right? Think I’m crazy? Think I’m both4? Let me know!
Also, not to be that guy, but I wasn’t even that far off. I said they’d get second! Second, dammit!
Well, maybe not ODU*
*zing!
Look for the Nicki Minaj flag, and give it a salute for me
This is the correct answer