Hot and humid weather plus tough courses led to slower times nearly everywhere, but there were still some elite battles.
The good news is that there is a significant cool-down coming late this week, in time for the Weekend 5 invitationals. That didn't help the runners who raced on Weekend 4, though, runners that often faced low-90's temperatures even in the late morning, coupled with high humidity in most places. At the Seahawk Invitational there were early start times, rain showers, and the ocean breeze to mitigate the heat; inland, though, it got pretty brutal, especially at races that started later. You can see the heat reflected in the times from many meets, and also another factor that was a common theme last weekend: difficult courses. From Myers Park to Cannon School to Durham Academy, racers had to overcome challenging terrain as well as rising temperatures. Despite this, there were some very strong performances around the state, both team and individual. We have already recapped the Seahawk Invitational, so let's look at the other major races before presenting the overall summary of the week.