Southeast XC Showdown meet director Steve Bedsole talks about the meet and reason for the Sept. 20 registration deadline. The event is Oct. 10 at Veterans Park in Hoover, Ala.
What are you expecting to see at the 2009 meet and in the future?
The Hoover Track Foundation is proud to announce the inaugural Southeast XC Showdown to be held Oct.10, 2009, at Veterans Park on Valleydale Road in Hoover, Ala. This is an annual event to be held on the second Saturday in October.
Our experienced meet management team is renowned for hosting such prestigious XC meets at Veterans Park as the Great American XC Festival 2005 - 2008, Nike Team Nationals SE Regional in 2007, and will partner with the Alabama Association of USATF to host the USATF Junior Olympics National XC Championships in 2010.
What kind of roles do you have in the meet?
With the event taking place at Veterans Park we thought it would a perfect venue to host a national caliber meet while honoring our service men and women. Each race will be sponsored by a branch of the U.S. Military who will be the honorary starter for their race. They will also present the awards for their sponsored race with each race having unique awards. Each branch will be onsite with exhibits and fun things to do such as climbing walls, simulators, etc. We will also build on our experience with Great American and NTN to continue using crowd pleasing and energy-boosting activities such as drumlines, flag corps, musicians, face painters, etc.
Since the event takes place on National Breast Cancer Awareness Day, we will include in our race packet pink ribbons to be worn on the bibs of any athlete desiring to do so. We have secured permission from the sanctioning body to allow this honorarium for sufferers and survivors of this terrible disease.
How many teams do you hope to see?
We are expecting some 50 teams from throughout the southeast, from Kentucky to Florida. With this being the inaugural year and the economy in the state it’s in, we are pleased with the registrations. We hope to grow the meet to be a destination meet for teams throughout the region and beyond!
Can you tell us a little about the course and what to appeal to teams from other states?
The course at Veterans Park is a permanent 5K cross country course that has hosted Great American XC Festival 2005-2008, Nike Team Nationals SE Regional Qualifying Meet in 2007, and will host the USA Track & Field Jr. Olympics National XC Championships in 2010. The course is challenging to the athletes with both open and wooded sections separated by a tunnel. For spectators, it is friendly where they can see the runners several times and we will even have grandstand seating at the finish for those who just want to sit and watch them go by four times!
"The 5K course at Veteran’s Park on Valleydale Road is deceivingly tough. What seems like a relatively flat course has long gentle grades for much of the first 2,400 meters. After exiting the tunnel the first time, the roller coaster ride begins…. What seemed like insignificant hills during the pre-race jog begin to take their toll on the unsuspecting racers through the woods. The packs of racers have spread way out by the time they head back through the tunnel for the final 400 meters of the 'survival of the fittest' journey to the finish line. The picturesque and challenging course leaves the racer wanting to race this course again – but most certainly on another day!" -- Devon Hind.
As the meet nears, what kind of projects come your way to finalize the meet preparations?
This is the inaugural year, so we are having to replace all of the course decorations, bunting, and flagging we’ve used for previous meets such as Great American. We have a core group of excellent, experienced volunteers and officials who are working with the City of Hoover and Shelby County to ensure the success of this venue while preparing for the USATF Jr. Olympics National XC Championships which we’ll be hosting in December 2010. We are using this and next year’s SE XC Showdown as dress rehearsals for this prestigious event where we anticipate hosting some 3,000 athletes. My biggest challenge as meet director for both events involves planning both events simultaneously.
Course records:
High School Boys 5K Bill Mathews 15:34.3, Oct. 11, 2008
High School Girls 5K
Ashley Brasovan 17:05.6, Oct. 13, 2007
College Men 8K
Daniel Kirwa 24:30.44, Oct. 24, 2008
College Women 5K
Lauren Blankenship 17:26.34, Oct. 27, 2007
Note from Bedsole: Registration closes Sept. 20 at midnight. The reason it closes earlier than most coaches are accustomed to is due to NFHS rules concerning events involving teams from noncontiguous states. Many coaches are accustomed to waiting until the week or two before a race to enter – in this case they would miss being able to enter their team as it would potentially jeopardize our sanctioning if we let in a late comer.