Guilderland's Virtual Home Course
Illustrated with Photos Taken 9/16/03
Welcome to Carl J. Walters Tawasentha Park in Guilderland, NY. Home to the Guilderland Cross Country team and one of the finest courses in the Northeast. This sign will greet you on Rte. 146 (you can't miss it).
The start on the lowest field of the park funnels quickly with a right turn past the gap.
The course then traverses the lower section of the park and turns right through this section of woods towards the front of the park.
After going around the "Babe Ruth" field and across the park entrance road and tennis courts, runners make their first climb up this side of the hill. What a view!
Then, it's across the top of the hill and into the woods where runners race down this sloping trail covered in wood chips.
Once out of the woods, runners will pass in front of the "stage" and travel back to the base of the hill before climbing the other side of the hill (often considered to be tougher).
Runners then travel back into the woods and down until they turn left for the finish down "Suicide Hill". This sign greets them before they descend. "Sisu" is Finnish for "guts". It was planted by Guilderland Alumnus Dan Haggerty.
"Suicide Hill" has been criticized ever since its inception for its steep decent and sharp turns, but we feel it encapsulates high school cross country. Just look at how beautiful this trail is!
It truly DOES take guts to finish this course!!! Here you see the two hair-pin turns down "Suicide".
"Suicide Hill" then literally spits runners out onto the lower field for an exciting finish in front of the crowd.
Once on the lower field, runners hug an old baseball backstop to the finish. What a course?! What a park?!?
We hope you enjoyed the course...see you again soon!
NOTE: Course lines were drawn on the photos using an old program, sorry for shaky lines...remember to run the "tangents" (wink wink).