The Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, sees thousands of High Schoolers each year in which they compete across two days on a grueling 3 mile course. The course takes runners along three primary points of interest; switchbacks, Poop Out Hill, and Reservoir Hill. The dusty course is 3 miles and can frequently approach mid to high 90o weather.
The full course map can be found here.
Although many greatly look forward to the Mt. SAC race each year, some coaches are opposed to Mt. SAC hosting the CIF SS Championships. Like this tweet from Newbury Park Coach Sean Brosnan.
The start of the race (as seen above) is pretty hectic, but is essential given the sheer amount of races that need to be run throughout the day. However, there are many opportunities to pass others later on in the entire course.
The Santa Barbara High School Dons' Boys Cross country team is seen competing at the 2021 CIF SS Finals for D2 schools. Andreas Dybdahl (left) and Drew DeLozier (right) are captured making their way through the valley loop right before they hit the switchbacks. Although they unfortunately didn't move on to state, I was super stoked to see the boys do so well up until that point. With future years of running ahead of them, this is just the start.
Nevertheless, The Mt. SAC Invitational is still one of my favorite courses, it is both challenging and rewarding seeing my time improve each year I go back. It's also one of the very few instances of a very large race, there are also spectators lined up ALL along the course to constantly cheer you on, because you'll definitely need it. One of the best parts of the whole experience is finishing your race and then running back out onto the course to cheer on your team mates as they complete the same insane course as you.