Are Collegiate Cross Country Courses Too Easy?
By Sam Juliano Contributing Writer
Almost every high school cross country runner can recall without hesitation the brutal course that they compete on. It was not uncommon to hear about a race that included agonizingly long and steep hills, loose and unsure footing, tight bottlenecks that caused dangerous jockeying for position and hairpin turns which made a slip and slide on concrete look relatively pleasing. Despite the trials that were combated at these courses they remained a ritual of initiation into distance running and became local or national legends. Examples of these courses include Mt. SAC in Southern California, Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio, Sioux Passage in Missouri and New Jersey’s Holmdel. From these came memories and a mental toughness that could not be taken away. Either loved or hated these courses were part of the landscape of competing. Such courses, however, are few or nonexistent at the collegiate level.
