Denver runners have an unusual opportunity this weekend to watch outstanding collegiate cross country runners compete for conference championships in an urban park — and to test themselves on the same course.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference brings its league title meet to Washington Park on Saturday, hosted by Metro State. Thanks to Adams State of Alamosa and Western State of Gunnison, RMAC teams have won 30 of 34 men’s and women’s NCAA Division II national titles since 1992.
Anyone can run in a preliminary “open” race at 8:45 a.m. As with the collegiate races, the open race is 6 kilometers for women and 8K for men. The cost is $10, with registration from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
The women’s collegiate race will begin at 10 a.m., with the men’s race following at 11 a.m.
Adams State and Western State are ranked 1-2 in the Division II men’s national rankings with Colorado School of Mines ranked fifth and Nebraska-Kearney 25th. In the women’s national rankings, Adams State is fourth, Mesa State 11th, Western State 14th and Mines 22nd.
Other RMAC schools include Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, New Mexico Highlands, Regis, CU-Colorado Springs and Western New Mexico.
Colorado schools have produced a lot of great cross country runners over the years. The University of Colorado has had four NCAA Division I individual national champions since 1992 — Adam Goucher, Kara Grgas-Wheeler (now Goucher’s wife), Jorge Torres and Dathan Ritzenhein. All four went on to become Olympians. CU could well have another this year, thanks to Jenny Barringer, who is already an Olympian.
But Adams State and Western State also have great traditions in cross country, having dominated small-college running for a generation. Those two schools, 120 miles apart, naturally have a fierce rivalry that figures to flare Saturday and again at the Division II national championships Nov. 21. There may be a few elbows thrown, maybe even a shove or two.
Saturday’s event also offers ordinary runners a rare chance to experience cross country racing, which is considerably different from road racing. Mud-splattered shins become lifelong memories in cross country running, and bad weather is good weather.
Snow? We should be so lucky.
