District 2 - Big Driver
Big Driver, as we've noted before, is no joke. One of the toughest courses to host postseason meets, Big Driver features a number of up and downs and even starts on a gradual uphill. After the start it takes a sharp right turn and heads toward the steep downhill on the back side. This is where the course gets tough as the loop (around 800 meters) can take a mental toll on a runner. The first time around one can typically ride that adrenaline high off the start, but once they hit the gradual uphills toward the 1 Mile mark, if they started too fast, that 2 mile will be rough. A sharp right sends them toward the other lonely part of the course which has its own long uphill at a little past halfway (2500-2700). They head back to the first loop. This is where champions on the course are made and broken. This is also where those who deserve a trip to the sectional meet earn it. Another sharp downhill leads them to that first loop and around the loop, this time in the opposite direction. Now that gradual downhill becomes a gradual uphill. Once the runners crest this final test, it flattens out and offers a chance for the runners to finish fast for the last 600 meters or so.
Big Driver hosted District in 2015 and Sectional in 2016. Last year the sun came out and a delay held back the final races until near noon. It was a rough one for many runners, particularly on the girls side where only two girls ran under 20:00 - both of whom would go on to run well under 19:00 on the state course. Big Driver is comparable to the state course, but is definitely tougher. A past article listed it 15 seconds slower, but I would be a little more dubious and say it is closer to 30 seconds. With Parkway Central coming up next at the sectional meet, there is no easy road to state for this district.