When I was in high school (1980s) the Dual Meet was not only a regular event but a staple of the schedule. We had a dual meet almost every week... and often Tuesday AND Thursday and then (maybe) an Invitational on the weekend.
Now first of all... don't get me wrong. The Big Invitational is still important and has a very important place in the sport. InvitationalS allow you to compete against many different schools from different divisions; they are important simulations for the type of meet you will experience at State; and of course they are much more of a crowd draw. I get it.
The purpose of this article is not to denigrate the Invitational, but to celebrate the "lost art" of the Dual Meet, and why I think high school cross-country in Florida would benefit from more coaches embracing the dual meet with gusto.
First, the basics... and the beginning of the advantages. The Dual Meet is simple ... Us versus them ... two teams. Mano Y Mano. It brings out the real team aspect of scoring.
Have one big superstar who wins by two minutes ? Not a big deal. That winner still gets only 1 point and second place gets 2. In a big Invitational, 30 or 40 runners may slip between the two. In fact, if you do the math, in a dual meet, the loser cannot score more than 50 points (and that's assuming the winner goes 1-7)
THE COURSE
Although a dual meet can be run anywhere, the small amount of runners may allow you to run on a narrow, interesting trial in the woods, or some other venue that could never accommodate a big crowd. Out and backs are easy .. or even multiple out and backs, as they simply require an easy map and 3 or 4 orange cones. What IS important is an accurately measured course. If any of your runners set a PR, you want them to be sure it was legitimate.
SCORING
In order to keep costs low, a manual timing and scoring system is usually a must, and refreshingly, old-fashioned and easy. 20 Popsicle sticks, a Casio and a legal pad will suffice.
UNIFORMS
Of course! While low-key and perhaps not required, uniforms are important. This is a competition, for crying out loud and uniforms denote team identity and keeps it from feeling or looking like a workout (although it may be).
STRATEGY
The strategy is decidedly different than an Invitational. (See my earlier comments on the small gain between first and second) these meets are a good chance to have your #1 pace and work with your #2, work on pacing; perhaps a fast finish workout. Maybe have everyone run as a pack through mile 1, etc.
The possibilities are endless.
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
This week, in the advent of the hurricane-shortened season, was had to have a dual meet out of necessity, to get some of our girls 1 extra meet.
We originally scheduled a larger team, out of our conference, but when they backed out, I e-mailed the District, and one of our willing rivals said "let's do this"!!
I was excited about putting this meet on, and decided to make FUN the over-riding theme of the day.
We found a seldom-used park deep in the west-side of Jacksonville (Sal Taylor Preserve)... we designed a "double out and back" (coming by the crowds at halfway) that was run entirely on soft forest trials, ensconced in pine tree. We wheeled the course twice, and ran it with a Garmin a few times to ensure accuracy.
The girls seemed to have a great time. Our opponents invited us to warm-up together.
The group went out tactically in a big pack, and the easier earlier pace resulted in all of our Top 4 running a negative split. And, not coincidentally, we had a few PRs.
The race was exciting. Our #1 girl nipped theirs in the final 50 yards. We ended up winning in a very close 23-32. We went 1-3-4-5-10 and they took 2-6-7-8-11.
Scoring was done with Sherwin Williams paint sticks and a Casio.
As the sun went down, we fired up the grill and cooked hamburgers and hotdogs for all.
At our awards ceremony, the emphasis was on a prediction contest. All of the girls guessed their time - NO WATCHES WERE ALLOWED - and one of their girls missed by just 7 seconds.
We also gave medals for "best negative splits" and PRs. Oh sure, we announced the final score, but it was almost incidental in the spirit of the afternoon.
EMBRACE the Dual Meet. Get a few on the schedule next year. You'll be glad you did!