Cross country - in general

[pole vault 1]

Hopefully this will start some dialogue. For years i have complained about cross country becoming nothing more than track on grass and my opinion has not changed. Piketon and Southeastern have fast courses but are flat - unbelievably flat. I can remember the difference between cross country athletes and track distance and/or road running athletes body build wise. Cross was considered being for strong athletes with lots of endurance. Though I enjoy the flat, fast courses for the kids confidence, the regular cross country courses with all of their challenges does a lot for the kids confidence as well.

This past saturday we ran at Meigs. I was told horror stories about this course which only intrigued me even more. This course, much like the course at Zane Trace, is true cross country. Tough? Yup, very. Hills? Yup, challenging ones. Mud? Yup. Possible slide down a hill? Yup. Roots? Yup. Ruts? Yup. When running this course it takes some concentration and some thought. It is not like the Road Runner going out on a flat course and just turning it on. I think a good mix of courses is a good thing for kids and I highly recommend the Meigs course if you want your cross country runners to experience pure cross country.

The Nelsonville athletes loved the course. They also really liked Southeastern's course. For me, I will continue to mix courses because when participating in sports it is supposed to be fun. To run flat, boring courses week after week after week just seems so counter productive to what it is we want our kids to experience while playing high school sports. At Southeastern the athletes knew their place from the git-go. At meigs they had to turn a corner just to find the runner ahead of them and some of our kids used that as a challenge as they raced. It also lends to some strategy such as going around a corner and putting on a surge to attempt to disappear so that the runner behind you either gives up or comes up to challenge.

Just thought I would share.

[5kdude]

cross country has changed over the years. When my dad was in school in the 70s they ran with alot of hills and stuff like that. I think a real cross country course would be threw the woods and mud and stuff like that. A good place to have a course would be out at old mans cave in logan. You got the trails and if its a rainie day then you would have the mud and water. I dont think there is nothing wrong with taking a team to a course that is all flat beacuse if your running on a course week after week that is hilly and stuff the kids would like to see a flat course so there can see there times go down .

[coach k]

I knew you would love Meigs' course. The course is a hidden treasure. You should have been there last year. It was a treat. It had rained a lot prior to the meet and a lot during the meet. My kids had a blast that day. It was so bad in spots you had to walk around corners just so you didn't fall, and sometimes it still didn't matter. Needless to say there were a lot of ruined ruined clothes that day. It may very well be my favorite meet.

Like you, I am not a fan of "track on grass," or as I affectionately call it, "cupcake cross cross country." Flat, fast courses do have their place, and sometimes schools don't have much say in where their courses happen to be.

Great conversation topic...as is the e-mail you sent me about the three dead people who were describing to St. Peter their last moments before death...

[NYBuckeye96]

What does the new NY course look like? I'm going to guess its one of the flat boring courses just based on the fact its on the school grounds????


Also, why didn't NY ever have a cross country team until recent years? It seems like NY was the only school in southeast Ohio that didn't have cross country as a sport. Was there no interest in coaching a team at NY or was it an admin decision?

[Ken A_D_D]

Thanks for the plug, PV1! I knew you, of all people, would love that course.

Maybe next year we will have a few more teams and it won't be so tough to find the next runner. :122249 September 28, 2013...Bring your spikes!!!

[pole vault 1]

Ny Buckeyes, the course at Nelsonville-York has some "rolling plains" - there are some hills there, just not big hills. The course will be different next year as we have a few plans. As far as why NY has not had much in the way of cross country - I do not know. All I do know is that I am having the time of my life working with these young men and women. We will field full varsity teams for the TVC and District and a full boys junior high team. For the girls junior high we are at 4. Considering we started it up this year with 5 as the original and have permitted those who became interested to join us has brought us to a total of 24 athletes. The bus driver, yesterday, said to me, "I have never had this many on a bus for cross country." The interest is there and we just have to tap into it.

I like the flat courses because it is a great change on the legs - strides are longer and the athletes know just how fast they have to move. But, a course with changes in the terrain, turns and mud make for an interesting day of running. On flat courses there is little room for any strategy - it is much like running a road race - nice surface, usually flat and good times and you can maintain a pace - kind of like running on a treadmill. The hills challenge quads, hamstrings, concentration and focus, and most of all breathing. You get to the top of a hill, turn a corner and BAM there is another hill. At this time the lungs are screaming at you. On either course it all hurts.

We need both.

[wildthingRV]

You want hills, mud, roots, ruts, and challenges?

Come run RV next year. You'll love it.

[pole vault 1]

^^^^^^^Date?^^^^^^^

[NYBuckeye96]

Ny Buckeyes, the course at Nelsonville-York has some "rolling plains" - there are some hills there, just not big hills. The course will be different next year as we have a few plans. As far as why NY has not had much in the way of cross country - I do not know. All I do know is that I am having the time of my life working with these young men and women. We will field full varsity teams for the TVC and District and a full boys junior high team. For the girls junior high we are at 4. Considering we started it up this year with 5 as the original and have permitted those who became interested to join us has brought us to a total of 24 athletes. The bus driver, yesterday, said to me, "I have never had this many on a bus for cross country." The interest is there and we just have to tap into it.

I'm glad to hear that the sport is growing at NY. I'll have to check out the course next time I'm back in Nelsonville.