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UIL State Championships Comments

"Most unfair start of any 'big' meet in Texas. You better hope you get to start on the left side or you are at a big disadvantage, especially with the sharp right hand turn coming up at on 200-250 meters."

"This course is not what I would expect for a State Championship when showcasing the best talent and course in Texas. The start has issues and this occured in the first race ever in 1996 with the 4A girls. Yet this issue has been overlooked for 11 years. The entire field if still standing from the cluster at the start then has to do a 180 degree turn 600 meters into the race. At that point crowd control is an issue as the runners come up onto the small first hill. Once the first 1200 meters are out of the way the course is decent until coming back down the same hill after the dam. The finish line is one of the worst I can remember. The last 100 meters are great but 500 meters before this runners barely have enough room to see and sprint up the hill due to lack of crowd control. The UIL has to address the problems on this course to give the athletes the best chance to showcase their abilities."

"The course is well marked but there have been a few instances where runners have twisted their ankles due to holes along the course especially between the first 600 and 1000 meters. Viewing the runners can sometimes be a challenge for spectators because every year the weed growth around the area is bad and getting from one spot to another can be tricky. You have to jump around and over high grass and prickly shrubs."

"The start is as bad as any in the state. I would like to see it on the other side of the water. It would require rethinking the course. The location is great and the logistics for hosting a big meet are there. They need to think outside the current course set up to redo it and make it better for the athletes."

"Overall a pretty good course that DOES allow for the public to watch from a wide variety of viewpoints. Starting line may have it's faults but hey "that's XC!" No one course is perfect. Mostly decent footing on the course with some tricky spots...decent rolling elevation changes esp. the last 800 for the girl's course. Not many PR's are set at this course...so it's not exactly an easy course. A good running challenge!"

"the start is unfair, if your starting box is on the top of the hill your start is downhill if your starting box is near the road your start is uphill, a major physiological disadvantage. The course is not set up for total spectator viewing, as the first 3/4 of a mile can provide excitement for spectators that completely falls apart at the mile mark, only to pick up again with about 600m to go. I am glad they finally put up snow fences to control spectator movement though... overall not a great state meet course."