Is Mt.Sac the hardest course in the west coast?

why would you not go in order of fastest to slowest or even vice versa?? Waste of a post

summernights wrote:

why would you not go in order of fastest to slowest or even vice versa?? Waste of a post

I can't remember what every single one of my 22 teammates ran.

Shouldn't it be obvious with these 4 runners' times?

It's a very hard course, yes but a lot of it comes down to poor pacing. A lot of mid-pack runners take the first mile very fast (very easy to do since it is flat and wide) not realizing/taking into consideration the huge hills the next two miles have.

My PR senior year was 17:00 for 3 miles. My Mt. SAC PR was something ridiculous like 18:50 maybe. I've seen guys who have run 15s run 2 minutes slower at Mt. SAC.

But no, it is not the hardest course in the west coast. There's a course in Northern CA that is supposed to be harder tho the name eludes me.

Come to the new england region of the USA and report back how 'hard' this course is.

The hardest course on the west coast is easily the Cal Poly XC course. Radio Tower hill makes Mt. Sac look like speed bumps.

whatthewhatthewhat wrote:

It's a very hard course, yes but a lot of it comes down to poor pacing. A lot of mid-pack runners take the first mile very fast (very easy to do since it is flat and wide) not realizing/taking into consideration the huge hills the next two miles have.

My PR senior year was 17:00 for 3 miles. My Mt. SAC PR was something ridiculous like 18:50 maybe. I've seen guys who have run 15s run 2 minutes slower at Mt. SAC.

But no, it is not the hardest course in the west coast. There's a course in Northern CA that is supposed to be harder tho the name eludes me.

Morley Field in San Diego is harder IMO.

I grew up on Long Island, and one of our toughest courses was Sunken Meadow. Does anyone know how Sunken Meadow compares to Mt. Sac?

They might as well surface the course with mondo. Try a soft, wet, long grass course that has vole holes all over it.

If you are looking at times from Friday, it was darn hot and that has to be considered. Mt. SAC is not even close to being the toughest course on the West Coast. Try the PV cross country course. It is a solid minute slower than Mt. SAC. There are many others, too.

Sunken Meadow is a moderately hard XC course. Mt SAC is a very hard road race.I haven't been to Mt SAC to compare times but the videos make it seem like a road race.Try some Pennsylvania and the Maryland state courses for hard XC. I'm sure there are many others. Not hating on California runners though who are always among the country's best.

Grad Ceremonies wrote:

I'll give a few examples of guys on my team:

a 18:21 5k runner ran a 20:56

a 19:04 guy ran a 21:08

a 16:35 runner ran a 17:59

a 19:48 runner (girl, 3rd in league) ran a 21:33

Almost everybody on my team ran 1-2 minutes slower on the MT.Sac course, which is unprecedented in any other XC course I've experienced.

That's not only because of the course. If you look at the course records and compare how those runners ran at the California State Meet (a pretty "neutral" 5K course), most run faster at Mt. SAC. The Footlocker West regional course at Mt. SAC (which is a full 5K), is a pretty slow 5K, but the Invite course is short enough that the times shouldn't be slower than a 5K.

Lol, maryland? You must not get out much.

coach wrote:

Sunken Meadow is a moderately hard XC course. Mt SAC is a very hard road race.I haven't been to Mt SAC to compare times but the videos make it seem like a road race.Try some Pennsylvania and the Maryland state courses for hard XC. I'm sure there are many others. Not hating on California runners though who are always among the country's best.

Greg Hill wrote:

If you are looking at times from Friday, it was darn hot and that has to be considered. Mt. SAC is not even close to being the toughest course on the West Coast. Try the PV cross country course. It is a solid minute slower than Mt. SAC. There are many others, too.

Out of curiosity what is the "pv course" you are referring too?

The Palos Verdes Peninsula HS course is shared by Palos Verdes HS and located at

1994 Palos Verdes Dr. Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274.

This map shows the 3 200+ foot climbs

!3m1!1e3

Old Syosset Runner wrote:

I grew up on Long Island, and one of our toughest courses was Sunken Meadow. Does anyone know how Sunken Meadow compares to Mt. Sac?

I think they run pretty similar.

Mt. SAC is a challenging course, but definitely not the slowest in the west.

I think your team just had a poor day. My best 3-mile time was 15:00. Ran 15:27 at Mt. SAC and 15:43 at state (5K).

Grad Ceremonies wrote:

Almost everybody on my team ran 1-2 minutes slower on the MT.Sac course, which is unprecedented in any other XC course I've experienced.

A large time differential does not imply a hard course. This would only be true if all the courses were the same distance. I can think of a few courses that are extraordinarily difficult - much harder than Mt. Sac - but yield times a few minutes faster just because they are shorter.

Hasn't anyone been to Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura? Now that is a true ball buster!!! Makes Mt Sac look like a down hill track.

Crystal Springs is probably tougher. But not as many people run there.