The local organizing committee has pulled out all of the stops to put on a once-in-a-generation event for Leon County. Graphic design via Luis Flores // flographix_ on IG Written by Cory Mull On most mornings, the first thing Amanda Heidecker will do upon arriving at the Apalachee Regional Park cross-country course is find a pair of shoes.  Next she’ll set out on foot, working up a cadence as she staccato steps over its many hard-packed surfaces. Then she’ll whip around turns and dash through rough terrain before opening up her stride on the fastest sections. It’s important to feel the ground underneath her, the Leon County Parks and Recreational Director says, because it's a living and breathing map she helped shape and mold, from the mud to the sand to the rolling makeshift incline positioned along the 2,000-meter loop. She’s run it all.  Many times over. And for years, planning for the 2026 World Cross Country Championships has also taken up her life. It's one big reason why Heidecker, a graduate of Florida State University and a former member of the Seminoles’ cross-country team from 2006 to 2010 (her maiden name is “Quick”), has put so much of her heart and soul in it. Official medal design for the 2026 World Cross Country Championships // Photo via World Athletics She understands what this global showcase will mean in the broader picture.  “This is our next opportunity to really grow the sport on a global level,” said the Tampa native, who entered her role in 2021 shortly into the planning phase after spending eight years with Visit Tallahassee and as the Sr. Director of Sales & Sports. Undoubtedly, the World Cross Country Championships will arrive in Tallahassee on January 10th for the first time in 34 years, following its last event in Serbia in 2024. It’s a big moment for the city, and for the sport of cross-country. Moreover, it's also a significant showcase for the course known as “ARP”—especially considering there’s a swell of momentum pushing for the sport to be added to the Winter Olympics by the International Olympic Committee. But luckily for Heidecker, who is a co-chair of the local organizing committee, she isn't alone. Her co-chair, Taylor Wheaton, the senior sports director at Visit Tallahassee, has been there every step of the way. So, too, has a core group of about 24 staff members and interns who have comprised of the local organizing committee.  “What success looks like for me,” Wheaton said, “is that each of these different kind of key areas are noticeable and fans leave feeling like this was the best event for themselves or that they’ve attended or experienced.” Behind Planning For The 2026 World Cross Country Championships The planning process has roughly been a six-year journey, from the beginning stages of the bid, which began in late 2019 , to a hold after COVID, to its reopening and a formal bid submission at the end of 2021. Tallahassee was awarded the 2026 host site in July 2022 after World Athletics sorted through a total of three bids.  In the three years since, Apalachee Regional Park’s cross-country course's impact has continued to grow for the region, from hosting the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2021 (a first in Florida in 83 years) to supplying an asset for the NCAA, AAU, USA Track and Field and the Florida High School Association — and in the latter's case, it's been the home of the state's prep cross country championship for over a decade.  AI rendering of what the Apalachee Regional Park’s cross-country course will look like // Photo via Leon County Parks & Recreation Department By 2020, roughly 11 years after the course was first constructed and was in operation, about $30 million in direct spending was earned by Leon County from large-scale events at the facility. Five years later, according to Visit Tallahassee, that number jumped to $90 million, adding approximately $60 million over the stretch. The course, which is operated by the county, holds about 20 races every year there. The World Cross Country Championships, meanwhile, will be the first international sporting event ever held in Tallahassee and is expected to bring an additional $4.3 million to the region through tourism and economic impact. Outside of Florida State University football, which brings in approximately $106.5 million per home game , the global cross-country event will be among the biggest drivers of economic impact in the county across sports ever. A total of 65 federations and about 500 runners have submitted their intents to compete, while Visit Tallahassee projects “thousands of fans” will flock to the city to take in its sights and sounds. “Being a former cross-country runner and running at Florida State and being very close to the sport, it really means a lot  to have this event here,” Heidecker said. “I think it’s something our community has worked really hard on and it really is growing the sport of cross-country.”  Taylor Wheaton (left) and Amanda Heidecker (right) are co-chairs of the local organizing committee for the 2026 World Cross Country Championships set for Jan. 10 in Tallahassee, Florida. Photo via Leon County Parks & Recreational Department A World Cross Country Championship Course Built For The Global Stage At the center of that impact is Apalachee Regional Park's cross-country course.  Like most of Florida, it once was the home of highly-dense grass and swampy terrain, the likes of big swooping weeping willows and high brush.  But in 2009, as the legend goes, former Florida State University director of track and field and cross-country coach Bob Braman (along with some help from the Leon County Parks & Rec department and the county’s local running store) came out with a “machete” and “started chopping away,” said Heidecker. Back then, Braman was also the president of the cross country committee for the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). A native course of 5,000 and 6,000 meters, with widened lanes big enough for a race to take place, came from that moment. Three years later, the Leon County Board of County Commissioners pumped in $300,000 more to widen the lanes 10 meters, which would meet guidelines by the NCAA to hold regional and national events there. In 2021, the course received another $3 million investment that brought a multipurpose building with restrooms, a finish line structure and awards stage and a yearly landscaping contract. A portion of tourism tax, Heidecker said, also goes directly back into the maintenance, upkeep and reinvestment of the facility.  Over that stretch, broadcast infrastructure, such as fiber optic lines to bring high-speed internet, have also been introduced, along with other ad hoc enhancements for major events (such as temporary scaffolding).  Over the next decade, the vision of Apalachee Regional Park led to a surge of cross-country specific venues being built across the United States, from John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama to Missouri’s Gans Creek Cross Country Course, among others. How Apalachee Regional Park Will Make A Statement At The World Cross Country Championships Naturally, the stakes are high for a years-in-the-making event.  Behind the scenes, the local organizing committee is pulling out all the stops. Over 700 personnel, from the LOC staff to volunteers to the Leon County Sheriff’s Department, will be on site on the day of the race.  “It’s going to be an experience like no other,” Heidecker said.  What’s more, after Heidecker and Wheaton both attended the last installments of the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, and Belgrade, Serbia, in 2023 and 2024, their brainstorming led to creative ways to highlight the sport on a global stage.  One main objective handed down by World Athletics, Heidecker said, was that the course had to be fan-friendly. What came from that idea was a 2,000-meter course that would feature five obstacles and one temporary-standing shrine to the Capitol of Tallahassee.  Upon starting, athletes will emerge from a replica of the Capitol building, a 100-foot high and 30-foot wide structure that will be nearly identical to the legislative building in the heart of the city.  From there, five obstacles will be placed across the course, from a “rollercoaster” ramp that will be placed directly under a spectator bridge, to a water hazard (which, I’m told, will “be as deep as the shin”), a mud hazard, a sand hazard and a log hazard that will cleverly place replica alligators on their axis—a nod to the state’s massive population of large reptilian.  Tallahassee's Apalachee Regional Park features a permanent starting line structure, among other investments over the last 16 years. Photo via Visit Tallahassee How The World Cross Country Championships Will Make A Difference You might not be surprised to know that many of the central figures in the planning of the World Cross Country Championships are former track and field and cross country athletes. Heidecker ran at Florida State and was one of the state’s best runners at Tampa Gaither High School, while Wheaton was an NCAA Division I hurdler at George Mason and Genesis Leggett, Visit Tallahassee's marketing director, was a thrower for Berry College and Florida State.  Heidecker may run the course more often, but Wheaton and Leggett are often times out there, too. “Maybe tomorrow when I have all my clothes ready,” Wheaton says.  A passion for the sport drives through each of them. Proceeds for the event, for example, will also go directly back to the Tallahassee Leon High School and its cross country program (one of the state’s best). “I really hope we continue to inspire other destinations and other people that put on cross-country events,” Wheaton said. “It can be something that’s special and unique and an experience built for athletes who work so hard for this sport.”  “Success is paying homage to this sport that is rugged and difficult and hard and you give everything that you have,” Heidecker said. “That’s why we started running these events. Not just from an economic impact side, but to grow the sport.”  What To Know: The 2026 World Cross Country Championships When : January 10th, 2026 Where : Apalachee Regional Park (7550 Apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee, FL 32311) What: Mixed Relay, 9:45 a.m. EST Women’s U20 Race, 10:20 a.m. EST Men’s U20 Race, 10:55 a.m. EST Women’s Senior Race, a.m. 11:35 EST Men’s Senior Race, p.m. 12:20 EST Additional: The gates will open at 7:45 a.m. EST. Spectator tickets  are $10 and are free for children 12 and under. Fans can also register for a series of fun runs: a World Athletics Kids’ 2K, a Florida edition 2K, a high school 4K and a Florida edition 4K.

Production via Wyatt Barnsley On this week’s episode of The Stride Report Podcast, Garrett goes solo to preview the NCAA indoor track season and break down who’s favored to take home national titles! He runs through the women’s and men’s 800-meter, mile, 3k and 5k fields, highlighting top contenders, sleepers and key storylines to watch as the season gets underway. Garrett also closes with a look at the DMR on both sides, examining which programs are best positioned to strike gold in one of the national meet’s marquee events. It’s a full event-by-event guide to what could be a thrilling NCAA indoor season. Be sure to listen, subscribe and review! (2:17) Women’s 800m Preview (7:30) Men’s 800m Preview (15:49) Women’s Mile Preview (24:02) Men’s Mile Preview (31:17) Women’s 3k Preview (36:57) Men’s 3k Preview (43:20) Women’s 5k Preview (47:25) Men’s 5k Preview (52:14) Women’s DMR Preview (54:08) Men’s DMR Preview You can listen to that episode (and others) on our PODCASTS  page! You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud. If you like it, be sure to leave us a rating  and a review ! Note: If you're having issues loading the episode on the site via mobile, try refreshing  the episode page. We will look into this issue for future episodes.

Spend a day with three-time NCAA D1 All-American, George Couttie! 🔥 Follow along with the dynamic distance standout as he brings us to the UK during his break from Virginia Tech! Couttie walks us through his training, meals, home life, and what he enjoys doing off the track when he’s back home. 😎🇬🇧