Gans Creek Classic Recap

Gans Creek Classic/Pre-State
Ryan Taylor


We had waited to see the new state course in action for sometime now, and in my personal opinion it exceeded expectations. Despite it being a bit muddy and soft from overnight rain, the course ran much more fair than Oak Hills ever did, but also proved that it isn't the race track that some people feared. The rolling hills and sweeping turns provided a sufficient challenge to the runners, and the width of the course gave enough room for athletes to make moves and not have to fear getting "stuck" in the pack. I was especially impressed with the nice wide 600m straight start to get them going. This also one of the best spectator courses I've ever seen, and I felt like I was able to watch most of the race without having to run a near 5K myself. Needless to say, I think this place is going to be special and that we are very blessed to have a state course like this.

Another thing that I think needs mentioned is how well the meet was ran. The boxes were nice and wide, there was an automatic check in where athletes just simply walked over a chip reader, and even tent spaces were assigned. The races were all started promptly, and the finishing tent provided athletes with ample space for water and medical assistance should they need it. This stuff may seem small to most, but for those of us who understand the chaos that the state meet has been at Oak Hills can see this course easily hosting the state meet.