Most Improved Runner of the Year Award Criteria
2007 – JaredMiller
2006 – Heather Johnson
2005 – Patrick Smith
2004 – BobCovington
2003 – No award was presented, but the inspiration for this annual award came from the first season running improvement ofCharlieMarshall.
History of the Award:
During the End-of-Season Celebration awards presentation after the initial WayneCounty Challenge season, it was pointed out how one of the age-group winners had improved his 5K time by over three minutes during the season.
30-34 Male 32 participants
The winner of this category participated in all nine of the WCC races.
He accumulated 515 points, placing 8th Male overall. All that running and racing paid off. He made tremendous improvement over the course of the season, running the Frostbite 5K in a time that was over three minutes faster than his time in the Run for the Roses 5K. He’s the only one I know of who ran the Frostbite 5K faster than he ran the Home Run Trot 5K.
The winner of the 30-34 Male WCC is Charlie Marshall.*
That wrap-up of Charlie Marshall’s 2003 season led to a suggestion that the WCC sponsor a “Most Improved Runner Award”. Beginning with the 2004 season, the WCC has presented this annual award to the runner who shows the most improvement in racing speed over the course of the WCC season.
This award is a testament to those runners who work hard during the WCC season to make improvement in their racing speed. The winners of this award are examples to all who want to get into better shape. These winners have shown how significant racing speed improvement can be accomplished through hard work, dedication and consistent effort.
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Award Criteria
This award is for improvement made in racing speed over the course of the WCC season.
Criteria used to determine the recipient of this annual award are described below.
Four guiding principles:
1. A runner must run in at least three WCC races.
Requirements for eligibility to receive a WCC award include participation in three events. But for this award, participation must be in the form of running, not volunteering to help at a race or directing/co-directing a race.
Three races is a minimum requirement. A better assessment of improvement can be made with more races to consider. Runners who have competed in more races will be more seriously considered for this award. A runner with steady improvement spread over the 7-month WCC season is given more consideration for the award than a runner who makes a large improvement between two consecutive races.
2. Course difficulty is taken into account.
Race courses in the WCC are not equal in difficulty. The races have different terrain, length and weather conditions.
Race times recorded by individual runners in different WCC races are compared using computer analysis to establish the statistical relative difficulty of all WCC races. This information is used to help in evaluating and determining improvement.
3. Factors that may cause slower times may be taken into account.
Race times in individual events may be skewed by factors such as injury, recovery time from other events, weather, etc. For example, a runner’s time in the Girls, Inc. 5K may be slower because of participation in the Mini-Marathon the week before. Or a runner may decide to run a race alongside a slower friend or relative. Such a race may be eliminated from consideration in determining overall seasonal race improvement.
4. Improvement is relative to each runner’s starting point.
It’s obvious that 60 seconds improvement from 17 minutes to 16 minutes is not the same as 60 seconds improvement from 37 minutes to 36 minutes in a 5K race. The former is probably the result of dedicated effort and serious training, the latter probably isn’t. Therefore, more serious consideration will be given to those runners who show improvement relative to their standing among their age-group peers.
All of these factors are taken into account in determining the Most Improved Runner. Obviously some subjectivity is required in choosing the winner. The decision of the WCC Committee is final.
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WCC Most Improved Runner of 2004 Award
The Most Improved WCC Runner of 2004 participated in every race, improving his 5K time by a huge total of 2:20 over the span of the season. The most impressive thing about his season was that after the first race, he got relatively faster each and every time he raced. Like only five or six other runners this season, he ran the Frostbite 5K faster than he ran the Home Run Trot 5K and he did that by a whopping 38 seconds. He ran the Frostbite 5K an impressive 1:48 faster than he ran the Run for the Roses 5K.
The WCC Most Improved Runner of 2004 is . . . Bob Covington*.
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WCC Most Improved Runner of 2005 Award
The Most Improved Runner showed steady, consistent improvement throughout the season and did some things that no one else was able to do. For example, no one ran the Ashtyn’s race in Hayes Arboretum faster than they ran the Home Run Trot. But our Most Improved Runner came within four seconds of doing it. His Home Run Trot time wasn’t a fluke time either, as it was faster than his time in the Girls, Inc. race and faster than his time in the Sizzlin’ Summer Classic race. He finished the season by running the Turkey Chase 7K at a pace that was 15 seconds per mile faster than any previous race and then lopped off another 15 seconds per mile when he ran the Frostbite 5K 1:33 faster than he ran the Home Run Trot.
The WCC Most Improved Runner of 2005 is . . . Patrick Smith*.
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WCC Most Improved Runner of 2006 Award
The winner of this award stood out for the improvement she made. Who among us ran the Hagerstown Jubilee 5K faster than the Sizzlin’ Summer Classic 5K? Who among us ran the Firefighter 5K four minutes faster than the Girls Inc. 5K? Who among us ran the Turkey Chase 7K at a pace that was 51 seconds per mile faster than their Girls Inc. time? She ran the Firefighter 5K 3:23 faster than the Run for the Roses 5K, which was her fastest of the first three races.
The WCC Most Improved Runner of 2006 is . . .Heather Johnson*.
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WCC Most Improved Runner of 2007 Award
The winner of this year’s Most Improved Award stood out for doing some things that no one else was able to do. First of all, he ran in every race, and the first three were pretty consistent. But the improvement really started to show on the hills of Hagerstown. He ran the Hagerstown Jubilee faster than he ran the Rock-n-Roll 5K. That’s extremely rare. He then ran the CambridgeCity Firefighter 5K three minutes faster than he ran the Girls Inc 5K. In the next race he ran the trails of the Hayes Arboretum a minute and a half faster than he had run the Firefighter. He continued to run a faster pace in the longer Turkey Chase 7K, and finished the season with his best 5K time of 25:17 in the Frostbite 5K, nearly 8 minutes faster than his Rock-n-Roll 5K time.
The WCC Most Improved Runner of 2007 is . . .Jared Miller*.
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