North-South Competition
The BRR includes a competition between the two sides of the Civil War -- the North and the South. Our goal is to further the North/South theme of the event and increase the interest in the friendly rivalry between the two modern day "armies."
Each runner will join, or be conscripted, into the North or the South. Runners will wear the colors of their side in the form of distinctive bib numbers. The North runners will have numbers starting at 1, the South will have numbers starting at 501. (See below for why.)
Colors: The bib numbers for the North will be blue. The South colors will be yellow. (Gray just doesn't work with these numbers.) Yellow is very appropriate. It was the color of the Confederate cavalry. J.E.B. Stuart was at both battles of Bull Run. He was called the greatest cavalry leader on either side. Here he is in his yellow piped uniform. He died at Yellow Tavern, Virginia.
The competition will be scored by those finishing under 10 hours. Just as in real battle, the front line troops determine the outcome and the REMF's enjoy the spoils. (We doubt "REMF" was a term used in the Civil War, but we bet there was an equivalent. Here is one Vietnam War veteran's take on REMF.) Using only the people under 10 hours allows us to designate the winning side and distribute awards before everyone has left.
Each runner under 10 hours will score for his or her side. If the runner is from the side with the greater number of entrants (likely the North), he will score one point. If the person is from the side with the smaller troop strength, he will score a proportionally larger amount to account for the lesser troop strength. Last year, each North finisher under 10 hours scored one point and each South finisher under 10 hours scored 2.36190476190476. Here was our calculation for last year. The factors we use this year will be based on this year's relative troop strengths.
Once the winning side is determined, ALL finishers (those who have already finished and those yet to) for that side will receive an award. (The award will not be mailed.)
Next year, the winning side will be issued the lower numbers. (Last year, the North won so they get the lower numbers this year.)
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