New XC course for Badgers

[Daisy]

Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course at University Ridge.

Grand opening this weekend on Sat 3rd Oct at 10:30 a.m. when UW hosts the inaugural Wisconsin Invitational.

UW cross country: Badgers proud of layout, of course

Nuttycombe said a unique aspect of the Zimmer layout is it's maintained by the groundskeeping staff at University Ridge.

"I can't say enough about the job they've done for us," Nuttycombe said of a crew led by course superintendent Aaron Hogden. "Everything we've asked for, they've given. They've done a fantastic job in a brief period of time. Essentially it's been one growing season."

UW officials and coaches are hoping to use Saturday's events to measure the viability of hosting future NCAA events, including regionals and the national meet.

.....the course strikes the right balance in terms of difficulty. "I think already, in its first year, the footing, the terrain, is better than Terre Haute,".

Nuttycombe is confident coaches' and athletes' first impressions of the venue will be more than satisfactory."It's pretty darn awesome," he said. "It's going to blow them away."

[dl]

I know some fans and athletes are eager to get the meet away from Terre Haute. For those teams who compete at Pre-Nationals and Nationals every year, that's a lot of trips to the same place.

[26mi235]

I will be there all day tomorrow -- check the mile markers for the times and say high.

I have seen the course and it is already rather smooth and will get better. There are certain to be bugs tomorrow, especially if they really get 5000+.

[Daisy]

I will be there all day tomorrow.

How was it? Couldn't get out with sick kids.

“Terre Haute on steroids” is how one college coach described the venue, comparing it to LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind., which has hosted six of the last seven NCAA championship meets.

“Wisconsin has built one of the best cross country courses I’ve ever seen, and this is my fifth year running at the NCAA level,” said Georgetown’s Andrew Bumbalough, a two-time All-American who claimed the college men’s 8-kilometer race. “Everything about it, from the way it was designed to the grass they used to even building the hill right by the finish line for the fans, goes a long way to making it a great course.

Source

PDF map of course

[Davidokun]

Fifth year?

[Daisy]

Can redshirts run the courses but not score?

[Walt Murphy]

Bumbalough was a redshirt in x-country during his freshman year (2005/2006).

[26mi235]

I will be there all day tomorrow.

How was it? Couldn't get out with sick kids.

“Terre Haute on steroids” is how one college coach described the venue, comparing it to LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind., which has hosted six of the last seven NCAA championship meets.

The course was good - after the rain it was a little soft but I did not see any places that were muddy.

The Michigan coach said that it is like the Terre Haue course but (already) better. He will definitely be back next year (twice, sine the Big Ten meet will be there).

They had a HS meet as well which was reasonable size although many schools already had commitments and will not run it until next year. It was definitely a XC day - high of 53, breezy with a little spitting rain. It was hard to tell how large the crowd was because it gets spread over a lot of acreage.

[gh]

I know some fans and athletes are eager to get the meet away from Terre Haute. For those teams who compete at Pre-Nationals and Nationals every year, that's a lot of trips to the same place.

Is that more about Terre Haute itself than it is about the course? (Which by all accounts--I've never seen it--presents a wonderful venue.)

[dl]

I know some fans and athletes are eager to get the meet away from Terre Haute. For those teams who compete at Pre-Nationals and Nationals every year, that's a lot of trips to the same place.

Is that more about Terre Haute itself than it is about the course? (Which by all accounts--I've never seen it--presents a wonderful venue.)

No offence to anyone from Terre Haute, but it's mostly the town. I don't mind visiting any place once, but in the case of TH, that's enough.

I'm also not quite as enamored with the course as some others. Granted, they've improved things since 2002, when I pointed out in T&FN that the women's course, which featured 2 loop 3K circuits, was lousy for spectators. Now, they do a lot of internal loops over one single 6K circuit, which helps. But I still don't think it's a very good spectator course. The last two years I've stayed by the finish watching on the big video board. Unless you're really willing to hop fences and make a mad dash to a few different vantage points (which granted, I'm not quite as willing to do in cold conditions like I may have been 10 years ago), it's not as good a spectator course as the other NCAA XC venues I've been to (Indiana, Furman).

I like Wisconsin's idea of a spectator hill, where one can watch much of the race from a single vantage point.