Kingsport Needs a XC Course

We need a cross country course in Kingsport. All of our other sports have stand alone places to train and play. XC needs its own. Our middle schools and high school runners have a tough time finding enough grass to run on. They are left having to run city and neighborhood streets which is tough on young legs. We need a place for them to both practice and race on grass and in the beauty of nature.

I am a huge fan of Bill Aris of Fayetteville-Manlius in New York state. F-M are the owners of more hardware than I can list. They have been national champions on multiple occasions. I would argue that Bill Aris exemplifies the idea which Arthur Lydiard first implored – there are running champions found on every block of every neighborhood. Marc Bloom writes of Aris’s methodology and his teams’ success in Amazing Racers: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Team and Its Revolutionary Coach.

One idea that I have found in my own running experience and that of my family – we don’t like the track. It is boring and more like work. Aris often quotes Percy Cerutty, the wily Australian known for unorthodox and revolutionary training techniques. Cerutty was often ostracized. But……the man was the coach of multiple Olympians and maybe the best Olympic miler ever, Herb Elliot. Interestingly, Herb Elliot rarely practiced on a track.

According to Aris, “….Cerutty’s training runs were undulating, cliff top trails, and ocean beaches, over sand dunes, dirt roads, grass fields, and golf courses.” (Amazing Racers, Bloom and Aris)

In my own experience running, my mind is much more calm and lucid when running through forests, or on grass, or on gravel. I don’t like running on the paved roads and sidewalks unless I have no other choice (which is far too often). When I can, I run on the Creeper, Mendota, Tweetise, and Bays Mountain Trails. They are gravel or dirt and much easier on the legs – my legs recover much better after running on those trails.

That brings me to my point. Kingsport needs a permanent cross country course for city school runners and regional runners. It would be used for daily for training by student athletes and double as their home racing course. It certainly could also be used as a park during other hours. It needs to be in a setting which is beautiful – meaning not next to an industrial plant. It needs to have multiple loops. If you need an example, look at the University of Tennessee XC course at Cherokee Farms and Pre’s Trail in Eugene, Oregon. I have been to both.

Financially, it could pay for itself. Other than Steele Creek Park and Daniel Boone HS, there are really no XC courses in the region which have the length, grade, and parking necessary to host XC events. If you don’t think lots of people attend races, go look at a XC event parking lot sometime. Kingsport could host national, state, and regional invitational meets which could potentially fill up hotels 6-7 weekends per year(or more). Kingsport could host middle school, high school, college, and even USATF/international championships just like we do in swimming w/ the Kingsport Aquatics Center. With such a great running community, we could do this.

One added benefit of running on grass, gravel, or mulch is the drastically reduced rate of over-use injuries such as stress fractures and joint inflammation. Young runners are growing, and they need to be on soft surfaces. Having a stand alone course also reduces the number of street crossings runners have to make. The teacher in me winces every, single time I see XC runners crossing five lanes of traffic, even if there is a crosswalk. Why? As a runner myself, I know the close calls which accompany a long run when my mind is tired or having to maneuver quickly as an un-attentive driver fails to stop at a cross walk or swerves to close.

The total elevation of the prospective course probably needs to be less than 200′ vertical. The course would need a minimum of (1) 1.5 mile loop. A 2-3 mile loop would be optimum. Preferably smaller loops could be included within the larger loop – 800m, 1000m, 1200m loops for training. We need the course to be rolling hills and not Mount Everest. There would need to be a wide starting area(chute) of 200 meters which funnels into the course with no turns. We need to have wood chips, gravel, and/or grass as the surface. The locations needs to be where there is no risk of flooding. There needs to be plenty of parking. We need to make sure it is open to the public from dusk to dawn, 365 days a year. It cannot be a dog park. Dogs and distance runners do NOT mix. The course would need to be cared for, but the economic impact to the community would far outweigh any maintenance of the course itself.

My suggestion would be to find a farm or large piece of property, preferably a piece of property donated with the express intent of having a “running only” venue. It could conceivably double as a city park as well such as Van Cortlandt Park in NYC. Knoxville often uses Victor Ashe Park which is a combination park and soccer complex.

In conclusion, this is a very really need for our youth running community. We could conceivably become a regional and national hub for XC training and meets. The economic, safety, and overall holistic value of the course would be an innovative addition to our city.

ProTip: I don’t recommend dogs on running courses as a dog’s instinct is to protect its owner AND to chase. So far, my family has accumulated 3 dog bites while running and too many close calls to count. There are fewer exciting experiences in life than seeing a dog charge off the front porch, and hoping there is an invisible fence between you and the dog!!!! I have also seen docile canines (on a leash) drag their owner towards a runner. One of those dog bites came from a gentle animal dragging a grown man across a paved trail, and biting an arm.

Cover Photo: Pre’s Trail (Eugene, Oregon)