Bull Run Invitational is a Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) sanctioned high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

 invitational. The race is hosted by Hereford High School on their rural campus in northern Baltimore County

Baltimore County, Maryland

Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...

. The invitational has become one of the east coast's most popular cross country races, drawing over 100 schools annually. On the local level, the course has always been known for its challenging nature and slower than average times, but recent national media attention sealed the course’s status as one of the most challenging cross country courses in the nation.

History

The Hereford High School Cross site was originally designed as a two-mile-long championship cross country course in 1957. Over the years it has been altered and expanded to its current 3 mile length.

Site

The race is run on Hereford High School’s rural campus located in the northern most section of Baltimore County, Parkton, Maryland

Parkton, Maryland

Parkton is a rural area in the northern part of Baltimore County, Maryland, USA. It borders southern York County, PA, and this border forms part of The Mason-Dixon Line...

.

Course

"The "grueling" course is noted for its hill

Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

s, twists, turns and a steep ravine

Ravine

A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...

 known as "The Dip", all making for what has been called "The Toughest Three Miles in Cross-Country"

The course starts in a 500-600meter slanted incline and continues for the duration of the race to drive runners through rolling hills and around 90 degree bends.

Features:

The backhills: A mile of switchback trail that takes runners through woods and a former cornfield

The Dip: “The dip is the centerpiece of the Hereford strength test. The Dip is a deep ravine in the middle of the course. Runners tackle it twice in the second mile, going down all the way to the bottom, where a small bridge crosses a creek

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

, and then climbing all the way to the top on the other side. After winding uphill, downhill, sidehill through woods and fields, the runners return for another crack at The Dip. Down to the bottom again and back up to the top -- this time with 2.5 miles under their belts.”

Race divisions

The race is divided into a number of divisions based on school size and team ability. There is an unconventional section,the reunion run, for coaches

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 and the general public

General Public

General Public were a band formed by The Beat vocalists, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, and which included former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Specials and The Clash...

 to compete.

Divisions
• Elite- Boys
• Elite- Girls
• Large School- Boys
• Large School- Girls
• Medium School- Boys
• Medium School- Girls
• Small School- Boys
• Small School- Girls
• Reunion Run

Awards

Medal

Medal

A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...

 are given to the top fifteen individuals in each race. Numbered ribbon

Ribbon

A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...

s are distributed to 16th-100th place and participant ribbons are given to the rest of the field. Team Awards are given out to the top three scoring teams.

Media coverage

• In 2002, the national running website, www.dyestat.com, showcased the Hereford High School course as “the toughest three miles in cross country.”

• In 2005, the Washington Post newspaper published an article, “Far From All Downhill,” highlighting the challenging nature of the infamous Hereford cross country course.

Trivia

• In 2003, after two weeks of postponement due to Hurricane Isabel
  Hurricane Isabel
  Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed near the Cape Verde Islands from a tropical wave on September 6 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...
  
  , the Bull Run Invitation was ultimately canceled after the running of a JV boys race. The unusually rainy weather turned the courses largest hill into an impassible mudslide.

• The course is also home to the MD State Meet
• Even though the course is only 3 miles, only a few boys have broken 16 minutes and few girls have broken 19 minutes. On ordinary courses the winning times can be up to a minute faster.

Other notably tough courses

• NM - Manzano HS
• MI - Branstrom Park
• NV - ROP (right of passage)
• OR - Trask Mountain
• NJ - Holmdel Park
• PA - Susquenita HS
• DE - Brandywine Creek
• NC - Wolfpack Invitational
• AZ - Canyon de Chelly
• MO - Parkhill South
• CA - Crystal Springs
• NH - Derryfield Park
• HI - Waimea
• WV - Elkins
• OH - Cuyahoga Valley
• VT - Thetford Trails
• NY - Sunken Meadow State Park
• IN - University of Southern Indiana
• CO - Renaissance Run, Larkspur
• WA - Camas