| I just read your little bit about the toughest
courses in the nation, and I think that I have one that is a contender.
It's called Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in Northeastern
Ohio. This course is by far the hardest, yet most fun, course I
have ever run at.
After the first half of a mile, this course is just huge uphill
followed by huge downhill followed by huge uphill, and so on. At
about 1.75 miles there is a hill known to the locals as Killer Hill.
This thing is just amazing. It is about 500 meters long, and it
practically goes straight up into the air.
Most people would say that Northern Ohio is too flat, but I can
assure you this is the big time. You often see runners running up
the hill being passed by those that decide to power walk up it.
It's just rediculous.
This course is a 5k, and the fastest time I've ever seen or heard
about on it is 17:30 and that was by Chris Acs, a kid that graduated
in 2000 and came in third at the Ohio state meet that year and ran
a 15:31. Runner up at CVNRA was Joe McDaniel, who went 17:45. McDaniel
was consistently in the high 15:50s and PRed with a 15:42 at the
2000 state meet, placing right behind Acs.
This next guy isn't an excellent cross country runner, but that
doesn't matter since he is one of the fastest high school 800 meter
runners ever. I'm talking about Marc Sylvester, and the fastest
I've ever seen him run at CVNRA is in the high 18s. Just thought
I'd pitch in with what I think is one of the hardest cross country
courses in the nation.
by Tom Metzger
Brunswick OH 2002 graduate
Second the motion
I would have to agree with the statement that Cuyahoga Valley National
Recreation Association is the toughest high school cross country
course in the nation. The "killer" as people in Ohio cross
country call it, is just that, a killer hill. Although I am ashamed
to admit this, I actually speed walked up it my senior year because
I remembered being passed by walkers the past 3 years. Not surprisingly
I passed a runner walking up the hill.
I have read about the dip at the Maryland course, and I can relate
to it because CVNRA has the exact same thing. To make things worse,
right on the bottom of the dip is an area with an abundance of roots.
I also read about the 90 degree turn in Maryland and thought about
CVNRA because there is the exact same thing, only it is a U-shaped
turn. So runners can see exactly who they are ahead of. The most
difficult thing about this turn is the fact that it is at the top
of a hill in which runners just had to climb, a mere 75 meters.
After that hill and turn runners have a about a 35 second break
before their next steep incline.
All of this adds up to very slow times, as the preceding reader
points out. I was at the meet where Chris Acs ran the fastest time
ever, and I still have the meet sheet showing a 17:30. That time
is about 2 minutes slower than he ran at the state meet.
Until you have run at CVNRA, then you wouldn't know what a tough
course is.
Marshall Kutz
for the record
Just a note that for OHs CVNRA course, the course record in my
days (1995-1998) was Nathan McClintock from Crestwood running just
under 17:00 (I believe it was 16:59), not Chris Acs, as stated.
a DyeStat reader
Toughest Courses
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