In our newest feature, MileStat answers your questions! Check out what questions we answer this week and who asked them. 

Our newest feature seeks to answer and talk about exactly what you want to hear about. We had numerous questions sent to us and of those we chose these to answer. If you are interested in having your questions answered then just shoot us an email at njez@milesplit.com for a chance to be featured next week.

MileStat, I was just wondering why can't we have more relay dedicated meets in VA where only relays are ran such as the 4x55m, 4x55m SH, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800 and the less common relays such as 4xMile, SMR, and especially the DMR?

by: Tyson Evans

Tyson, there are two answers to your question and they are really not mutually exclusive of each other. The first one is simple, a lot of meets do not want to deal with the hassle of having to run all these events and also want to make more and relay teams are not as cost efficient as individual events are. 

The second answer and the much more complicated answer is that meets require tons of athletes to break even and tons of talent for teams to reschedule other meets to attend one. Let's take Blacksburg as an example. They are on a pretty strict schedule for meets, they like to plan things way in advance and work towards States and Nationals. If they wanted to run their 4xMile then they would really only want to do that at a big meet and with competition so it is a real juggling act. Basically, the only relay specific meets that work are the mega meets... aka the Penn Relays, Texas Relays, and Drake Relays. 

MileStat, what happens when a team has ran in no meets before their conference meet? So that being we have no marks in any events this indoor season. Would there be a way for them to still run at conferences if we could not go to any meets and all of out polar beat meets get cancelled?

by: Samuel Newcomb

Samuel, you know I am not 100% sure on this like other rules. The old way, which I do know, you could enter two individuals and one relay in every event regardless of performance. But you could enter up to six individuals if they all met the qualifying standards. So, though it is not 100%, I would say that if this happened you would be able to enter two athletes in every event  and one relay team. 

MileStat, why are fast guys so intimidating at meets?

by: Addison Baugher

Addison, it all depends on what you mean by "intimidating". If you are just saying by their attitude and confidence then that is just a by product of their talent and believing in themselves. I think too often people confused aggression and a certain level of swagger that athletes have. I am a believer that athletes should be there to compete, not make friends. I think a lot of the top guys are that way as well... they are there to win and set records and not there just for fun. Do you think a ton of football players want to just chill before a big football game with the opposing team? 

Let's be clear though, this is not exclusive to the guys either! The girls can be this way if not even more this way. 

MileStat, why is there a limit to the number of events in which an athlete can compete? Why shouldn't they be able to participate in as many events as they wish?

by: Seamus Otto

Seamus, I can almost guarantee this is about Liberty/Parkland this past weekend. The rule is in place so that athletes are not over-run and kept healthier. You can make the arguments either way for or against the rule, trust me, you will open pandora's box if you talk about how sprinters can do jumps and distance runners cannot. But it all stems back to what the VHSL or NFHS feel is an appropriate work load for an athlete and what is considered "over-running". 

MileStat, will there be region qualifying times this year, and if so, how can I find them?

by: Tim Shay (Northside HS)

Tim, unfortunately this year we only made sure the state standards were done with the help of Maggie Walker. The regional ones and conference ones have to be done by the regional or conference directors... that basically means it is up to them. A lot of us know that this means many of the standards will not be done for a long time. You can however figure them out for yourself by using the formula. It is the average 8th place time or distance averaged over the past 7 years. 

MileStat, how many meets include the 2000m steeplechase and what/where are they?

by: Kelly McKinney

Kelly, did you know there is an indoor steeplechase!? Outdoors though, there are quite a few meets that have the event. Our MileStat meet in late April has it and a couple other meets will have it as well. We host our meet the last full weekend in April, every year! 

MileStat, Do the national elite gold and silver standards match the qualifying standards for NBN? My son runs hurdles and for last year's outdoor seasons both the standards did line up. This year looking at the 55mh, I am not so sure.

by: Jamie Haag

Jamie, I am not sure who posts those standards. The standards on VA are variable to what is seen as a "good" time in any event. Some years, that means things are much faster and others they can be slower. If you really take a long look at things you will see that times only slowly progress over time. So sometimes the standards will be off and others they will be right on the nose.