Fort Braden MS 2M

A "photo every 50 meters" look at this 2 mile cross country course, first raced 22 September 2010. I prepared this gallery during the leadup to the 2011 event. The course begins at the north end of Fort Braden Community Park. It heads south and a bit uphill through the park, then west toward a footbridge connecting the park to school. It crosses the footbridge for a complete clockwise ~1.25M perimeter loop at the adjacent Fort Braden School K-8 campus. Re-crossing the footbridge, runners meander around the park for your viewing pleasure before finishing near the south end of the football field. The start/finish community park is on the north side of FL Hwy 20, a bit over 9M west of the intersection of Hwy 20 and FL Hwy 263 (Capital Circle SW). 2011 course was measured USATF tangent style. 2010 course was measured NFHS center of course style, finally abandoned just before the 2011 season. For you metrically challenged folk, one mile = 1609m. Or check here to convert from meters to barleycorns, light-seconds, or whatever folks feel comfortable using. Some helpful approximate equivalents (and the splits I radio in during this 2M race) are 400m~1/4M, 800m~1/2M, 1200m~3/4M, 1600m~1M, 2Km~1.25M, 2400m~1.5M, 2800m~1.75M, 3200m~2M. By the time you get to 3200m, you need to add about 60 feet to get a full 2M. 3.22Km more than covers it. It'll be sweet when the middle school runners inevitably abandon the 2M distance and switch to 3Km (~1.86M). Should the kids run at the Middle School State Meet or beyond, it'll be metric exclusively. In national or international competition, whether it be USATF, AAU, CCCNYC or IAAF it's ALL metric. That includes younger kids who might compete at 1Km or 2Km. These photos were shot at a 35mm equivalent of ~27mm focal length. That's a fairly wide angle view. In other words, "things are closer than they appear" in the photos. Print the course map and follow along. The course gets extensive flagging the day of the race. Photos were taken before the final flagging. Runners will find pin flags on both sides of the course the entire way. I don't do these things half way. It's an orange corridor start to finish. I do not use permanent marking - certainly not in a shared-use area like the Community Park! Any ground marking by me (e.g., start line, directional arrows) will be flour, NOT paint, lime, marble dust, etc. In shared-use areas, it must be expected that other park users not know we were there once the running event concludes. Nausea-inducing helmetcam course tour video shot 12 Sep 2011. A loose helmet mount and a rigid fork made for a shake-fest. My apologies. A better helmetcam vid with a more secure helmet mount was shot while I did one last ride-through after the course was flagged 14 Sep 2011. Print the course map and follow along. Fort Braden GPS track history (NOT to be used for measurement!), newest first: 14 Sep 2011 Boys' and Girls' races. 14 Sep 2011 Helmetcam course tour re-shoot after final day-of race course flagging. 12 Sep 2011 My photo and initial video duties. Both tracks include a bit of riding after completion of the course before I pressed "stop." 22 Sep 2010 Girls' and Boys' races combined track. 14 Sep 2010 initial proposed course for Fort Braden 2M. Click the "Aerial" or "Hybrid" tabs and try the "Player" function on those GPS tracks. Event notes: Girls' and Boys' RACE VIDEOS while performing my lead bike duty. I grabbed the wrong walkie talkie before the Girls' 2M. Battery went dead after the 1/2M split. Doh! Boys' 2M reporting from my lead bike duty went smoothly. The 14 September 2011 event began with the 6pm Girls' 2M start. The Boys' 2M followed at ~6:30pm. This was the second of a four race series for 2011. First race was the SCMS 2M at Tom Brown Park, 7 September. The Fort Braden event will be followed by the Gretchen Everhart Owl Run, the morning of 22 September. (That Owl Run course may have been changed since my 2007 coverage.) Wrapping up the 2011 series will be the 28 September Leon County Middle School Championships at Apalachee Regional Park. (A 2M course will be used at ARP for the middle school races, not the 5Km depicted. I think the start is the same and they just finish at the normal 2M point.) Some rules and regs for these Leon County MS events: 2011-12 Leon County Student Activities Middle School Handbook. Herb Wills was at the Fort Braden race again for 2011, and filed this report including links to photos and results. Read Herb's excellent wrapup of the 2010 Leon County MS XC Championships including results, photos, and a description of all the races. A note to the Fort Braden hosts (2010 and 2011) - you set the standard for cross country "course marshaling." There were folks all the way 'round the course. Eyes were on the runners for the full 2M. Awesome! You might see yourselves in the race videos. Godby Coach and Master Timer Chris Sumner got me started helping at Fort Braden in 2010. Fort Braden AD Kim Sims was my go-to authority for the many issues arising when undertaking the fun. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me TallahasseeTrails on YouTube. "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks