What is the most famous cross country course?

You're right. So what did he run the spring before the 16:01? Need to look at both the spring before and the spring after the 16:01. Come to Bull Run this fall and run the Reunion Run! Unless you're chicken lol!

First place: Mt. SAC.

No second place.

I believe I remember Franklin Park hosting the world xc championships one year. Has there ever been another world xc meet in the usa?

As far as Hs goes I think almost every state has a course they think is famous, becuase it is in that state. The one's that nationally have the biggest meets are probably: Mt. Sac, Van Courtlandt, Balboa Park, and Portland Meadows.

parkside has gotta be on any list - big races, tough course - i remember running it in the snow one fall

Belmont Plateau, Lehigh (Paul Short race), and Van Courtland are big in the east. Don't know much about Holmdel besides the fact that NJ kids try to say it's tougher than Belmont.

yum yums wrote:

Belmont Plateau, Lehigh (Paul Short race), and Van Courtland are big in the east. Don't know much about Holmdel besides the fact that NJ kids try to say it's tougher than Belmont.

The NJ kids are clueless.

F*** Yeah. Favorite course ever. I went to McHenry High School and ran in many races there. I would also go there for regular runs. The second mile is the best part of the course; no spectators just u and the fellow runners.

I've run both. Holmdel's tougher

The two most famous courses in the U.S. are VCP and Mt. SAC. Balboa and Indiana state are probably up there because of the high profile meets they host, but VCP and Mt. SAC have the most history and host larger meets annually.

I'm sorry NJ people, but Holmdel is not a famous course. I'm from Maryland and Bull Run @ Hereford is very famous within our state and an awesome course, but I would not say its a famous course nationally. I think Holmdel represents something similar for NJ.

Oh, for God's sake... wrote:

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...

what he said please be sure to add the t

van cortlandt and Sunken meadow

NY bias obvs

5 mills, Italy. Get up with the programme.

Woodward Park, home of the California State high school meet. Also West Regionals D1, and NAIA National Championships.

For the American Midwest:

Terra Haute

Parkside

ghurhhhu wrote:

5 mills, Italy. Get up with the programme.

Also I agree with this

Van Cortlandt....what other course has had its high school course record owned by such as Marty Liquori, Alberto Salazar, and now one of the Rosa brothers (who recently ran 8:42 for two miles) Van Cortlandt is the "Yankee Stadium" of American cross country, and they're both in the Bronx.....If you set the record or come close to it at Van Cortlandt you are Olympic material....

I lived 1 mile from Van Cortlandt and saw people like Dennis Fikes, Pete McArdle, Bruce Kidd, Vic Zwolack, Pat Traynor, Tom Sullivan, Oscar Moore, Art Dulong, Amby Burfoot, Jim Keefe, Ray Crothers, Frank Shorter, Byron Dyce, Dick Berklee, Brian Kivlan, Walter Walls, Julio Meade, Gordon McKenzie, Tom Donnelly, Marty Liquori,Jim Jackson, Mike Ryan, Ed Winrow to name a few of the high school, college, and post college runners during the 1960's. There are no women on the list because my primary viewing was before 1969. I missed the 1969 NCAA Championship duel between Gerry Lindgren and Steve Prefontaine.

It's my understanding that the great Villanova runners would run upwards to a minute slower at Belmont Platueau.

I second the U. of Maine course in Orono, Maine, where the Murray Keatinge Invitation is held. Drop dead gorgeous course. Not a lot of meets are held there because it's in a remote location. But heck, it's freakin' Maine (beautiful colors, woodchips, trails)

I can't believe no one has mentioned Lehigh's course up at the top of their mountain (their Goodman campus, which is a mile or so from their main campus). Not #1 in famousness, but it's still a often used course.

The toughest course I know of was the University of Michigan's old course on the M golf course. It's where their course is now, but it was a different layout. It was even hillier than it is now, and used to have about a 400 meter sprint up a gigantic hill to the finish. Now it finishes on a flat, slightly downhill straight (but it's still one of the hilliest courses in the NCAA).

Another very tough course (although I haven't been there) would have to be Colorado's Buffalo Ranch--hilly and at altitude.

I can't comment on courses outside the U.S. because I don't have the money to do any traveling. But American autumn cross country is a much more sanitized version of the rest of the world's late-winter XC.

There probably can't be a specific Number One, but 4 or 5 which are famous because they're used so much:

Van Cortlandt Park in New York, Franklin Park in Boston, Mt. SAC in California, and Balboa Park in San Diego.

For Michigan high school, the metro-Detroit Cass Benton Park hosts about 10 meets every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during September and October, and usually a few more races on nearly each Saturday. It is the home course many, many high schools, kinda like a scaled-down version of Vanny.

Michigan State hosted the NCAA championships for several years in a row in the late 50's to mid/late 1960's (my memory is fading, sorry), kinda like Indiana State has been the last 7 years or so. It was on the edge of campus, a sprint-400-yards-then-turn-at-the-softball-backstop type of course. Famous in its day, I suppose, because it seemed like nationals was always held there. Not at all appropriate for today's modern XC meets.

Cinque Mulini

Parliament Hill

I've done the both - cinque mulini was crazy but relatively easy (apart from the stairs). 5mm spikes all that are needed.

Parliament Hill is a pig..