Arizona Runners At Mt. Sac Cross Country Invitational

  History of Mt. Sac Cross Country Invitational

Celebrating it's 61st year, the Mt. Sac Cross Country Invitational has come a long way since it's start in 1948 with ten schools (only boys) participating on the 1.2 mile course.  In 1965 a new 3 mile more spectator friendly course was redesigned with added hills (Poop-Out) and some "switchbacks" but it wasn't until the 1970's when girls and women started running in the event. Each year the Mt. Sac Invitational has grown in size and in the number of races needed to accommodate all the runners.  This event this weekend is host to 570 teams and 20,000 athletes not including the 5,800 Junior College runners last weekend or the Middle and Junior High runners this weekend. 

You might be asking yourself how an event this large can move that many runners through the 3.0 mile course in two days?  It is like watching a symphony.....everything perfectly timed.  Every seven minutes a new race starts on the airstrip, after a previous race crosses the airstrip, while another race is heading up the switchbacks and another is running on the airstrip in the opposite direction toward the finish.  It is well timed and fun to watch as four young men stand in the middle of the cross section of four races making sure they don't all meet in the middle at the same time!  Orchestrating such precision also makes for timely starts and each race started at exactly the time they were suppose to.  

 

Arizona Runners at Mt. Sac  (Day 1)