Winning the bid to host the most important international running event in the world and being listed among some of the best host cities in the world, speaks volumes to the vision of the Board of County Commissioners and our team who continue to dream big. – Director of Tourism, Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.
Still pissed all the hell off about Devon Allen, I thought the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon were a complete triumph. At least as seen on the various NBC channels. Looked good on TV.
Couldn’t afford to go, nowhere to stay when I got there.
If I skipped a few events, tickets would still cost more than my first new car off the showroom floor.
I don’t travel well. Try being six-foot-three, arthritic with a confirmed history of blood clots on cross-continental flights.
Not to mention generally impecunious.
Was laid low by Covid before the WACs even started. Too sick even to watch from bed.
Luckily, the DVR was programmed and the virus was an ebb and flow situation by day four.
Still haven’t seen the finish of my favorite race of entire meet – the men’s 10K Final. I believe that is the ONE TIME the competition ran long. And my recording ran out.
But I was sitting on the edge of my recliner, leaning towards the big screen, just fourteen-feet away so I can put myself in the middle of the pack and it was already past my normal bedtime. Still weak from the virus.
I’ll sure as hell next time be demanding Paxlovid at the first sign of a throat tickle.
Not so old I don’t believe in next time.
Starting to fantasize about those Diamond League Championships. Just don’t have the ass to sit through a ten-day event.
Last November, pandemic or no pandemic, seemed absolutely necessary to attend the 2021 NCAA Cross-Country Meet. We had been housebound for twenty months and it’s all good road with but four turns to the parking lot. Three hours drive. No lines, no strangers, plenty of leg room.
Don’t like to travel but I was there in Tallahassee. With a few allegedly vaccinated old buddies.
So, speaking with complete confidence, I heartedly recommend a cross-country race at this venue.
An energy of the mass. Bright colors. Competition of the herd. Bike race without wheels. A crisp fall day. Or snowy as crap. Cross-country racing is righteous.
The next Worlds in the USA will be one I can get to and afford.
Be cool if Tally became XC Town USA! and more fans show up at Apalachee Park in 2026 than did at Worlds at formerly historic Hayward Field in 2022.
I should live so long.
Rooms are probably all booked already anyway.
IPS TO BE HELD AT APALACHEE REGIONAL PARK
By Visit Tallahassee
TALLAHASSEE/LEON COUNTY TO HOST THE 2026 WORLD ATHLETICS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS AT APALACHEE REGIONAL PARK
On July 14th, World Athletics announced that Leon County has been awarded the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships at the award-winning Apalachee Regional Park. As the most prestigious competition in international cross country running, this event marks the first world championship sporting event ever to be held in Tallahassee/Leon County. Held since 1973 in cities across the globe, including Paris, Rome, Denmark and others, the World Athletics Cross Country Championships has only been held in the U.S. twice: East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1984 and Boston, Massachusetts in 1992.
“It is the highest honor for Leon County to be chosen as the host location for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships,” said Leon County Commission Chairman Bill Proctor. “We are thrilled to see this world event come to Leon County along with the incredible exposure and economic impact it will bring to the community.”
World Athletics is the international governing body for all running, jumping, throwing and walking sports. From humble beginnings, the World Athletics Cross Country Championships has become one of the most exciting footraces in the world, featuring the world’s toughest runners.
“We are beyond excited to have been chosen to host the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships,” said Leon County Administrator Vincent S. Long. “Five years ago, we sought to host the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships as the most prestigious cross country destination in the nation, and this past November, that goal became a reality. Now, we look ahead to hosting the world’s preeminent cross country champions.”
The World Athletics Cross Country Championship is expected to draw more than 550 runners from over 60 countries that will compete in five official World championship races at Apalachee Regional Park. While it will be internationally televised, the event is projected to be attended by 10,000 spectators from around the world, bringing in an estimated economic impact of over $4.3 million. This announcement marks the beginning of increased visibility, additional events and training opportunities that come with the world championship site.
“In 2009, we set out to create an award-winning cross country course that could host local, state and national competitions. Now, 13 years later, we are hosting the world running competition,” said Kerri L. Post, Director of the Leon County Division of Tourism. “Winning the bid to host the most important international running event in the world and being listed among some of the best host cities in the world, speaks volumes to the vision of the Board of County Commissioners and our team who continue to dream big. This event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that highlights Leon County’s success in hosting running events and commitment to the sport of cross country.”
Watch the official press conference announcement HERE.
World XC heading back to the USA from Jonathan Gault at Letsrun.com 7/14/2022
After hosting the USA Cross Country Championships in 2017 and 2018 and the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2021, Tallahassee has landed the big one: World XC in 2026. It’s the third time World XC has been held in the US after the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey hosted in 1984 and Boston’s Franklin Park hosted in 1992.
When you think cross country, you don’t typically think Florida — the conditions will certainly be different from the 1992 race in Boston, which was run on a snow-covered course. So why is Tallahassee hosting? It’s pretty simple: they wanted to host. Bidding on an event like World Cross requires a local organizing committee and, crucially, financial support from a local government entity or tourism bureau — and the Tallahassee bid had that in the form of support from Visit Tallahassee.
But it’s not as if World Athletics just handed Tallahassee the bid. I bumped into Jakob Larsen in the media center in Eugene — the mastermind behind the terrific 2019 World XC in Aarhus and now the Director of Competition and Events for World Athletics — and he said that it was a competitive bid process but was impressed by the passion of the Tallahassee bid.
The course will have to undergo a few changes — the current 10k layout is great for spectators but a bit straightforward. The LOC will need to find ways to spice it up, but they have four years to brainstorm.
It is a big opportunity for the US, and for cross country as a whole. After going without World XC champs in 2020, 2021, and 2022, there will be three in four years from 2023 through 2026. If those events (in Bathurst, Australia, next year, Croatia in 2024, and Tallahassee) are successful, it may convince World Athletics to make World XC an annual event again.
“The USATF Cross Country Council is extremely proud and excited that Tallahassee has been awarded the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships. The World Cross Country Championships have always been an important part in the development and continued excellence of both male and female US distance runners. We have hosted numerous national championships in Tallahassee and are confident that they will prove to be an excellent host to this great event in 2026.”
-Thom Hunt, Chair USATF Cross Country Council 1977 World Cross Country Junior (U20) Champion who competed at a total of 4 World Cross Country Championships
“Winning this bid is huge!! The World Championship is the Olympics of Cross Country. They don’t contest the sport at the Games so this is as big as it gets. It’s going to be awesome to show our incredible course to the entire World. Leon County should be incredibly proud to bring this amazing championship to Tallahassee, the State of Florida, and the US.”
– Bob Braman, Head Coach Florida State University Track & Field/Men’s & Women’s Cross Country
“As a past champion, this news is near and dear to my heart. It’s such a privilege for US runners to have this opportunity to compete at a world cross country on their home soil. XC is a special sport – to be involved as an athlete, then as someone who strove to make cross country the best it can be for the athletes, this is a great joy to me”
– Doris Brown Heritage, 5x World Cross Country Champion
“I’m excited. Tallahassee has a lot of personal significance for me since I won NCAAs there last fall. In 2015 when I ran the world cross country as a junior in China, the Chinese fans were lining the course cheering for their athletes and I was thinking to myself “That would be really cool to have them cheering for me.”
-Connor Mantz, Men’s Individual Cross Country National Champion
“I’m thrilled that Tallahassee has been awarded the 2026 World’s Athletics Cross Country Championships. This is a huge testament to the incredible work of the Tourism team and the many other community members who have worked tirelessly over the past 13+ years to develop Apalachee Regional Park into one of the best cross country courses in the world. It’s an exciting time for our destination and we look forward to welcoming the world to Tallahassee in 2026!”
– Michelle Personette, Chairman, Leon County Tourist Development Council