What is the most famous cross country course?

I assume you are joking!

Holmdel does not make the top-10, it is basically for NJ H.S. meets, VCP, Franklin Park, Belmount Plateau, Mt SAC, Mt Alpine, etc., have been around longer, have hosted large NCAA, USATF/AAU and national H.S. meets.

The 78-years-old Cinque Mulini (Five Mills) race in Milan, Italy is the world's most famous cross country race.

The toughest cross country course in the world is Rod Gibbs' Farm in Nowra, NSW, Australia, site of several Aussie Cross Country titles.

Everyone who grew up in the Northeast has at least heard of Holmdel.

I'd say the 3 most famous are Mt. Sac, Van Cortland, and Holmdel.

BTW any cross country course in Illinois is automatically ruled out from being the most difficult. I refuse to believe the hardest XC course in America exists in that pancake of a state.

Finally a vote for Belmont Plateau! Great place and the old five mile course is back in use!

TrackCoach wrote:

I assume you are joking!

Holmdel does not make the top-10, it is basically for NJ H.S. meets, VCP, Franklin Park, Belmount Plateau, Mt SAC, Mt Alpine, etc., have been around longer, have hosted large NCAA, USATF/AAU and national H.S. meets.

Can't speak for international courses, but I would think Van Cortland takes the cake. I live on the west coast but still hear about VC a lot.

Xenophobic Americans please note:

The most famous cross country course is the Cinque Mulini in Milan, Italy, not the course you ran wearing poo-stained tighty whities under your gym shorts in high school.

Also, the most famous bike course is not the BMX course behind the city dump in your blighted north eastern rust-belt hometown. It's in France.

OP is a pathetic cheater: http://www.tracktalk.net/showthread.php?t=1750

A list of Olympic medalists who have run the Cinque Mulini:

http://www.cinquemulini.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=24&lang=en

Birdlegs wrote:

Veteran's Acres Park in Crystal Lake, IL is the toughest high school course ever, so I'd say it is pretty famous. Is it the most famous? It is to the people who have run there.

The first mile is hard, it's not that hard after that

Bull Run at Hereford !

How the F*** has nobody mentions Edinburgh yet???

Ok I will: Edinburgh

LaVern Gibson

SGC wrote:

Name one person you know who hasn't run XC on the Stanford Golf Course.

touche

I've run Vetrans Acres and Mt. Sac. Mt. Sac is way tougher.

Route 66.

SGC wrote:

Name one person you know who hasn't run XC on the Stanford Golf Course.

your mom?

The Concrete Jungle, NYC

It's "Van Cortlandt."

It's probably the most-run cross-country course in the U.S.--would people please learn how to spell it?

Cortland is a small State college in Upstate NY. It's also a variety of apple.

Van Cortlandt is a park in NYC.

Sheeeesh...

The original question had to do with how "famous" a course is, which I would interpret as meaning how many people have run it, heard of it, etc... and how many big races have been held on it. I don't know much about courses outside the U.S., but I would say the following should be in the top 10, in no particular order. Maybe others can voice their opinion and rank them.

Van Cortlandt Park - NYC (has hosted FL NE for years, countless NCAA regionals at all levels, NY HS State Meets, AAU and youth meets, college Inv. such as Iona Meet of Champions, NYU Inv. and others. It has also hosted USATF XC Nationals. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't doubt it has hosted NCAAs before at some point. It's basically the Madison Square Garden of cross country.

Franklin Park - Boston, MA - Has hosted some pretty big meets. Didn't it even host World XC one year? I may be out in left field on that, but for some reason that's in my head. Maybe it was USA's? Either way, it has a ton of big races. I'm sure people from the area can provide more specifics.

UW-Parkside - Kenosha, WI - This has been the site of FL MW for years, hosted NAIA Nationals for many years and countless D-2 regionals. I also believe it had D-2 nationals several times. I also think it is the site of the WI HS State Meet. It is host to many college and HS invites and has probably hosted many college conference championships, as well. It is a course used exclusively for XC. If you went to HS or college in the MW, you have most likely run this course.

LaVerne Gibson - Terra Haute, IN - This course has become synonomous with D-1 XC in recent years because of how many times they have hosted D-1 Nationals in the last decade. As a result, they have hosted huge pre-national races each season, as well. It also is land used exclusively for XC racing and is becoming more and more utilized.

Balboa Park - San Diego, CA - Best known for how many years they have hosted FL Nationals, as well as FL West. The best high school runners in the country run it each December and can measure themselves against all the greats of the past. I don't know for sure, but they probably host other races, as well.

Detweiler Park - Peoria, IL - Everyone will say its fast and easy, but that has nothing to do with famous. The bottom line is it has hosted the IL HS State Meet for nearly 40 years. Every great runner from IL ran it in high school, sometimes several races per season. Craig Virgin still holds the course record, despite IL producing FL champions since then. It also hosts a couple college races per season, including D-3 MW Regionals every couple years, which is the strongest Region in D-3. I think even a couple D-1 Regionals have been held here and probably some conference meets.

McAlpine Park - Charlotte, NC - this completes the four FL courses. This has been the site of FL South for years and hosts other high school and college meets, as well.

Wake-Med (SAS) Complex - Cary, NC - This is the site of the Great American XC Festival, and also the NTN Regional course. This course hosts several high school and college meets each season. It has hosted the ACC Championships, and I think D-1 and D-2 Regionals before.

Holmdel Park - Holmdel, NJ - This is the most famous course in NJ, host of the NJ State Meet and other races. It's probably more famous in the Mid-Atlantic Region than nation wide.

Rim Rock Farm - Univ. of Kansas - Has hosted some big races over the years, including D-1 Nationals.

Stanford Golf Course - Palo Alto, CA - This hosts the big Stanford Inv. and other races. I don't know as much about it, but other posters have mentioned it. I'm sure someone can provide more detail.

Louisville, KY - this course has come onto the scene in recent years and is getting awarded a lot of meets, including D-1 Nationals the year after this (I think). I believe it has already had NAIA and/or D-2 Nationals. It also had a D-1 Regional last year. I don't know much about it but I'm sure others can add info.

Anyway, there's a list of 12. Please feel free to add and rank. All of the things I listed were off the top of my head (I didn't take time to research), so I'm sure there are some mistakes. I don't pretend to be an expert. I'm sure others will add stats or make corrections. I just think this is an interesting thread.