OSU 2020 CC nationals course.....seriously??

From jogging a lap on the course I found that it is the best condition course I've ever seen. Significantly better than Wisconsin, Terre Haute and golf courses. Smooth footing, short grass, and 10 meter wide the whole race. Good luck to the competitors next year, the hills will definitely help some people and hurt others. Should make for a grat race.

Spectating the race wasn't too bad. I managed to get around to 8 different spots on the course for each of the 2 laps by running. Spectators who are walking can still see a lot since there are lots of spectator trails. If people really have a problem with the spectator traffic they can cut directly through the woods or brush like I saw some kids doing.

Spying Spectator wrote:

From jogging a lap on the course I found that it is the best condition course I've ever seen. Significantly better than Wisconsin, Terre Haute and golf courses. Smooth footing, short grass, and 10 meter wide the whole race. Good luck to the competitors next year, the hills will definitely help some people and hurt others. Should make for a grat race.

Spectating the race wasn't too bad. I managed to get around to 8 different spots on the course for each of the 2 laps by running. Spectators who are walking can still see a lot since there are lots of spectator trails. If people really have a problem with the spectator traffic they can cut directly through the woods or brush like I saw some kids doing.

Sounds terrible. Cross country needs some difficulty, not golf course-quality grass. I am not a fan of these overly manicured cross country courses.

With the current layout it won’t be possible for spectators to cut through the woods at nationals. The NCAA regionals crowd was tiny compared to a typical nationals crowd.

Go run 10k on this course, and come back to report to us. I believe Falcon still has the CR. John took us to this meet every year, some years even having hay bales to maneuver. It's about as close to European xc as I've seen in The States.

Olde Hogge wrote:

sub sub elite local hobby jogger wrote:

Sounds terrible. Cross country needs some difficulty, not golf course-quality grass. I am not a fan of these overly manicured cross country courses.

Go run 10k on this course, and come back to report to us. I believe Falcon still has the CR. John took us to this meet every year, some years even having hay bales to maneuver. It's about as close to European xc as I've seen in The States.

Agreed, the new course is even harder than the old course, making it the hardest XC course in the US. Personally I think it will be a great venue for nationals next year.

Didnt know Ohio State even had a cross country course. The have been butting all their eggs in the sprint basket lately.

Well, there this though wrote:

Didnt know Ohio State even had a cross country course. The have been butting all their eggs in the sprint basket lately.

C'mon, he clearly said OSU… not TOSU.

It’s a challenging course but it is absolutely NOT a “brutally tough course with constant serious hills.”

Got to disagree with the OP here. Most of the hills are pretty short and confined to a section in the middle of the course.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:

Well, there this though wrote:

Didnt know Ohio State even had a cross country course. The have been butting all their eggs in the sprint basket lately.

C'mon, he clearly said OSU… not TOSU.

So whatbschool are we talking about if not Ohio State. Oregon State? Do they use OSU as their initials?

This course is hands down the best cross country course in the US. Perfectly manicured grass and soft footing the whole course. Plus this course is easier than what it previously used to be. Record performances should take place with this new course. It's also spectator friendly if you know the course map. Obviously if you stand in one spot your not going to see much just like any other course. It's a 10K cross country course and not a track you morons. Oklahoma State and Dave Smith should be extremely proud of a great Midwest event they just held. Cant wait until Nationals next year. Great to see Nationals is being held somewhere else other than Indiana which is not centrally located for all teams to travel too like Stillwater, OK. You can hate all you want but OSU just proved worthy of hosting continued Midwest and National events on their home course.

+1 a great CC course.

Your claim this is hands down the best course in the country isn’t factually accurate.

I cut through the middle section yesterday spectating. That wont be possible with a large crowd at nationals. You’ll get stuck in the crowd down in the middle. Totally different than yesterday.

Zimmer course in Madison is much more spectator friendly with great footing. There are several other great courses including Iowa State and Terra Haute. Have you been to these courses? In regards to location, the climate is a plus but Stillwater is in the sticks.

Unless you’ve run the entire OSU course then I think cutting through the narrowish middle section isn’t a good reflection.

Have run OSU and Iowa State and in my opinion it isn’t even close, OSU is a much better course.

Well, there this though wrote:

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:

C'mon, he clearly said OSU… not TOSU.

So whatbschool are we talking about if not Ohio State. Oregon State? Do they use OSU as their initials?

1) Oklahoma State University.

2) Ohio State hosted Big Tens this year on their home course.

No idea what there is to complain about. Honestly might be the nicest XC course I’ve ever seen. It’ll handle nationals just fine.

Out here whining about spectators is how you end up with some Terra Haute nonsense. Hard pass. OSU has a great facility and NCAAs will be better for it.

The course is challenging but it’s fair. Well manicured but by no means easier than it used to be. Love the new start and finish lines.

Had the privilege of running on OSU' s old course, Wisconsin's, Terre Haute, and at Iowa State.. None were as nice and fast as this one. This is a true state of the art facility. Hopefully the NCAA committee will award more bids to OSU

2020 nattys wrote:

The course is also brutally tough with constant serious hills. This is fine for nationals but was a terrible idea for regionals. The Midwest men’s qualifiers just ran a brutally hilly 10k and will need to bounce back in 8 days. In contrast the NE region ran on the freakin roads...how is that fair?

I disagree. In my experience I feel so much more beat up after a road race than a cross country race.

During the race itself hills make things hurt more and makes it tougher. However, afterwards and the recovery time is a different story.

my $.02

Here's how the course played out.

Probably going to happen similarly at nationals next year. Quick out the start but settle into a pack. Pack stretches through the hills. Lead pack presses and separates on the flattish area from 5-7k. Winners get decided on the hills heading to the finish

You can read about the specifics here:

https://okstate.com/sports/2015/3/17/GEN_20140101115.aspx?path=xct