NERD alert: A few years ago I analysed the results of various DRC challenges and compared the top ten men’s results against the top ten women’s results. It suggested that on average I would have to make the men run 19% further than the women in order to create a “level playing field”.
I put this to the test with the original ‘Any Way You Please’ challenge in 2016 where the women had to visit four checkpoints while the men had to visit five checkpoints which meant they had to run 19% further. This resulted in a mixed male & female podium in the individual event and a female team narrowly beating a male team if I remember correctly, so I was very happy with the result.
I have just done a similar analysis on the results of this year’s 1st club handicap; with pretty much the same outcome. The numbers suggest that a 19% distance handicap for the men is still about right. Thus the DRC July challenge was born.
So, ladies, you have to run from the golf clubhouse, down the Cotswold Way to Nibley and up to the Tyndale monument, and then back again to the golf clubhouse, a distance of 4.30 miles. Chaps, you have to start at the wooden bench at Drakestone Point, running off the end of the hill and then following the path which leads you back around the edge of the golf course through the walkers’ car park and then down to the Cotswold Way. You then follow the same route as the ladies to Nibley monument and then back again FINISHING AT THE GOLF CLUBHOUSE, a distance of 5.13 miles – a difference of c.19%. This will create two separate leader-boards which I will combine through the magic of an Excel spreadsheet.
There will be an individual podium for the top three fastest runners overall regardless of gender.
BOYS v GIRLS
I will also compare the men’s and women’s results in batches of 5. I will add up the times of the men in 1st to 5th places and compare this with the total time of the women from 1st to 5th on their respective leader-boards. I will then compare the total time of the men from 6th to 10th against the total time of the women from 6th to 10th – then 11th to 15h and 16th to 20th and so on. Every time the men beat the women they will score a point, and vica versa for each time the women are quicker. Once a side runs out of runners the other side will automatically score a point for every complete batch of 5 runners remaining, so everyone’s result will count towards the team effort and it will be important to get a good turnout. The winner of the ‘Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better’ challenge will be the gender that scores the most points. All just for fun of course and not to be taken too seriously!
Let the battle commence.
Women’s route: https://www.strava.com/routes/13669617 (4.30 miles)
Men’s route: https://www.strava.com/routes/13669689 (5.13 miles)