Scoutin' Routes: Basil A. Marella Park

This fall I will begin coaching Varsity Girls Cross-Country (x-c) for the first time, and though I have been to (and for that matter, in) many x-c races over the years, my new role requires a greater intimacy with each of the 6-7 race sites our team will run at this coming season. I thought one way to begin familiarizing myself with each course would be to scout it on foot first: printing off a map, walking the course taking pictures of the course turns, and generally beginning to acquire a sense of what will be necessary for our team to properly prepare. Even in the off chance that courses are modified slightly, this will permit me a greater feel for the possibilities and pitfalls. Plus, I have the time during summer to embark on this sort of task.

The course I scouted this morning was what will be our home course, the 3.1 mile (5k) course at Basil A Marella Park in Greece, NY. Like many 3.1 courses set-up in small(-ish) parks, this one features a series of two loops (and for a couple stretches three) of the same area with only slight variation built in to extend the distance just far enough to qualify as a legitimate 5k. Let's take a guided tour through loop 1, shall we? (Note that the comment which accompany each photo are below the image.)

The start line is at the far end of two soccer fields, at which point it is a straight shot along the fields until you run out of real estate at the bicycle path. From there you hang a quick right onto said bike path.

Continue on past what one hopes will be cheering throngs of spectators :) ...

... which continues into the "woods" along a shaded paved pathway.

At this point, a little after the first 1/2 mile point, you veer left onto the hard pact dirt path which takes you to...

...Vintage Lane, hang another left and stay on the sidewalk until you are past the guard rail then take a left onto a dirt path.

This gets a little tricky (but shouldn't be a problem as it will be properly marked for competition), veer right (note the cement pad on the ground to the right)...

The directions did not specify with any clarity which side of the tree the course runs, but it is equidistant either way so I'm unsure if it matters. This is also approximately the 1 mile point (or you're a third of the way done).

As you cruise along this path (there are very few "hills" on this course), you'll stay right and descend down a lowgrade hill into...

... a meadow that will take you very quickly to...

... the monstrous incline denoted as "Howlett's Hill," which is really not much of a hill at all.

... and finally back along the same way you came, but in reverse.

And there you go. After passing the finish line you return to the bike path a little further down and repeat EXCEPT for a point just a few yards before the two mile point where you...

... take a right into the woods, taking a path that brings you to another left at which point you are running on a trail running parallel to the one you just left. My bet is that this is where the 0.1 in the 3.1 mile course comes from. Once you get to a second opening to the sidewalk running along Vintage Lane, you continue along the same route you ran your first loop.

By all accounts, this seems an extremely favorable, flat course with no technical elements and very few measurable hills. One concern I would have about using it as a primary training course is the lack of hills available for repeats and other training. In a few week's, once I've had the chance to visit a few more routes, I'd like to make my way back to Basil before formal practices begin in mid-August to continue getting used to it.