A behind the scenes look at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course

“We are tasked with maintaining the course, getting it in prime-championship condition and maintaining that throughout the course of the fall,” Ebbesmeyer said.

Some of the main things that the crew focuses on is mowing the grass, weed eating, painting lines, marking the course and controlling irrigation. Time is also put into maintaining the race headquarters building, the athlete pavilion, and tidying up all other buildings in the park that will be used on race day.

Keeping the course in immaculate condition is constant work, and during cross country season when the course hosts many different events for colleges and high schools it becomes difficult.

“There are challenges that our turf guys face, which is keeping grass alive in some areas,” Ebbesmeyer explained. “Especially with the number of races and athletes that we have participate over the course of the fall.”

A very common cross country racing strategy is to run on the inside corner of the course whenever possible in order to run the least amount of distance necessary. Because of this, most of the athletes in a race after the packs thin out tend to run over the same spots of grass.

Trying to mend patches of overused and grass can be difficult, especially now that the weather has begun to get colder.

“We're getting late enough into fall that growing grass is getting much more difficult," Ebbesmeyer said. "That includes getting anything to come back that may have been worn through as far as mud and grassroots go."

Maintenance of the course is not just an afterthought to be procrastinated, the crew must work year-round to ensure Gans Creek's growing reputation as a premiere course in Mid-Missouri.

“Our turf guys are out here nonstop over the course of the year, whether it’s for the cross country course, the general recreation area or the soccer fields that we have out here as well,” Ebbesmeyer said.

Since opening in September 2019, the Gans Creek Cross Country Course has been making headway as one of the premier courses in the midwest. According to Ebbesmeyer, it was originally designed to host championship events, so there are permanent structures in place that make hosting much easier from a management perspective.

This has been becoming more evident in recent years as Gans Creek continues to land opportunities to host high caliber meets. They hosted the National Championship last season for the first time ever, and will be back in the limelight hosting the 2027 Midwest Regional Championship race as well.

“A lot of the other courses that athletes will run on are more temporary and set up the week of the event,” Ebbesmeyer noted. “But this is a permanent year-round maintained course with a high level of detail to all of the running areas.”

The Gans Creek Cross Country Course serves as a battleground for many high school and college athletes throughout the year. The athletes are able to compete in this space in thanks to the Columbia Parks and Recreation team. It will continue to do so as it becomes more engrained with cross country culture in the midwest.

Mizzou Cross Country will compete on the course in t