By Auggie Brown
Glasgow News 1
Glasgow High School is preparing to host its first-ever home cross country meet at McKinley Field on Saturday, Aug. 29, marking a milestone for the growing program.
The event, known as the Scottie Highlander Classic, will feature runners from schools across the region and is designed to showcase Glasgow’s challenging home course and expanding roster.
Head coach Jeff Bruce said he began planning the meet last spring after former athletic director Bailey Garmon encouraged the team to host an event that could also help with fundraising.
Bruce said the effort has stretched over several months and included reworking the long-established course around new construction near McKinley Field.
According to Bruce, about 25 teams have registered for the meet, and he expects roughly 21 to compete on race day. In all, more than 500 runners are signed up across six races.
The meet will include boys and girls races at three levels, Bruce said.
High school runners will compete in 5K races, middle school athletes will run 3K, and elementary boys and girls will take on a 2K course.
Bruce said the McKinley Field course was first laid out in 2014, but nearby development, including a hospice house project, forced changes to part of the route. He said he has spent the past two weeks setting up the rerouted course and checking measurements to make sure it is ready for competition.
Bruce described the course as one of the more challenging in Kentucky, something he believes will work to Glasgow’s advantage since the team has trained on it all summer.
He also said the layout makes cross country a strong spectator sport at McKinley Field, because fans and team tents can be positioned to see most of the race without moving around the facility.
Glasgow’s cross country program is also growing along with the new event.
Bruce said the program had about 23 or 24 runners last year, but now has roughly 47 athletes from elementary through high school.
He said the elementary group alone includes more than 25 runners, and the middle school program has enough athletes to field full boys and girls teams for the first time.
Bruce, who ran cross country in high school, said he took on the coaching job last year when the school needed a coach and his son wanted to run.
He pointed to recent performances, including a third-place finish for the elementary team at the Raider Twilight race at Warren East, as a sign of the program’s momentum.
Bruce said he hopes the Scottie Highlander Classic meet can become an annual tradition for Glasgow cross country.
Key Facts
• Glasgow High School will host its first home cross country meet, the Scotty Highlander Classic, at McKinley Field on Saturday, Aug. 29.
• Coach Jeff Bruce says about 25 teams have registered, with more than 500 runners signed up across six races.
• Races will include 5K events for high school, 3K for middle school and 2K for elementary runners.
• Bruce describes the McKinley Field course as one of the more challenging in Kentucky and says it was originally established in 2014.
• Glasgow’s cross country program has nearly doubled in size since last year, growing from about two dozen athletes to roughly 47 this season.
• Bruce says the course layout makes it easy for spectators to watch most of the racing action from a central viewing area near the team tents.
