How did the Darlington Invitational start and when and where?
The Darlington CC Carnival started in 2008 and was ran on the campus of Darlington High School. I started the meet as a means to fund taking our team to other Invitationals.
How long does it take to prepare the course and what is involved?
The time it takes to prepare the course has varied over the years due to changes in location. This year, by far has taken the most time as we had to create a whole new course. We have spent countless hours over the last few weekends creating new trails. Now that we have the trails completed, the amount of time to prepare and set up will typically take six to eight hours. To set up the course we have directional signs to put our as well as rebar and flagging to put up. With our new location, much our course set up will be allowed to stay out. We also have finish mowing to ensure a course that is easy to distinguish. We also spend time making sure the course is clear of branches and vines in the woods and we mark any roots that could cause problems.
How many volunteers are involved with the meet?
In the past we have had 20-30 volunteers. This year should be no different. If anything, that number may go up based on needing additional help with parking.
Leading up to meet day, what kind of work is required and about how many hours and people are involved?
The majority of the time is spent on course prep. We need to make sure the course is mowed down, any limbs or branches are cleared, roots are painted, holes are filled, etc. I usually have a crew who helps me the day before the meet take care of that. My wife in the past has organized a crew of people to get the bib numbers and team packets together.
How many course monitors are used?
We are still in the process of figuring out how many course monitors we need this year. We have only had one race on the course, and it seemed to go pretty smoothly. We only had one area of confusion, which we have since taken care of. With that in mind, we will probably have approximately 15 people out on the course.
How has timing the races changed over the years?
Timing has not changed for us over the years. We have used Racetab with a back up timer. We hope to move toward chip timing in the future, but will need to grow to support that.
How has the meet grown?
The meet has seen some growth, but not like we want to. It is my belief that our location in the past has kept us from seeing sustained growth. We also made some mistakes in the past that have probably kept some coaches from bringing their teams back. We have learned from our mistakes and believe we run a quality event. We also believe that our new course and location will attract more teams.
What challenges have occurred?
Our biggest challenge has been securing a location that allows for sustained growth. We believe we have got that one taken care of. We also have faced the challenge of competing with other high quality and well established meets.
What else has changed or been altered in the meet?
The obvious change for us is location! Outside of that we have tried adding a water hazard, which some people really liked, and others did not. We removed it, but have kept our hay bale jumps.
What future plans do you have for the meet?
In the future we hope to bring back an open race that will take place before the invitational portion of our meet. Thanks to the efforts of one of our local gym owners, Curtis Boyd of Fitness World Gyms, we have a rapidly growing running community in the Pee Dee that we believe will support an open race. We are also planning on having unique awards made for future years. We want to provide winners with a medal that is like no other!
Has the meet changed directors hands over time?
No.
What else should we know?
The Darlington Cross Country course has been designed with the runner and fans in mind. The course has a good combination of running in the open and trails. Unlike most courses with trails through the woods, ours are wide enough to pass at any point. We are also proud to be the host of the 3A/4A Lower State Qualifying meet this year.
What's unique about this meet?
The thing that makes this meet unique is that we are trying to bring out the European Cross Country feel by adding the hay bales. We may look at bringing back the water hazard in the future too if more teams are interested.