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In case you missed the news about the third semi-annual Pan Am Cross Country Cup:
The 2020 Pan Am Cross Country Cup (championships) will be taking place Saturday,
February 29, 2020, on leap day in Langford, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.
The meet will be run at the PGA-sanctioned and Jack Nicklaus-designed Bear
Mountain Golf Resort, which is just a 20-minute drive from downtown Victoria.
The meet hotel is the 5-star Westin Bear Mountain Resort & Spa. It is located just steps from the start and viewing areas. A second local hotel for competitors and visitors is the 4-star Four Points by Sheraton Victoria Gateway. Victoria is a tourist destination and there are plenty of hotels located throughout the city.
The resort is nestled on the south and east side of neighbouring Mount Finlayson and overlooks a large expanse of the rain forest to the ocean. On a sunny day, the snow-capped Mount Baker in Washington State looms large at 10,781 feet of elevation (or 3,286m).
The event’s hashtag is #RunWild because athletes will feel that they are running in the wild
temperate rain forest – surrounded by spruce, fir, pine, and giant sequoia trees, between
two low-elevation suburban mountains.
The meet will include the third, semi-annual Pan Am Cup, where each nation in the
Americas will send their best available athletes. Also, there is the 33rd Can-Am Masters
(30-plus) Challenge, kid’s Nation Cup race, junior races, and an all-comers 5K.
Course description:
The course starts in an amphitheater-like setting at the north end of the 225m-long
driving range. When the gun goes off, athletes will run south toward the resort hotel and
then veer left twice, running north for 100m, then downhill to hole # 1 on the Valley
Course. Half-a-lap of the fairway later, after passing through two firm sand traps, runners
will drop down to hole #18 and will loop the fairway to the lowest point on the course at
approximately 1800m into the 2K loop. Over the final 200m, runners will have to climb
30m of elevation to the start-finish area.
The hill will be a deal maker for the hardy.
Viewing positions are long and from points near and around the resort hotel. The entire
length of hole #1 and most of hole #18 are visible as is the driving range (start/finish).
Registration for the Pan Am XC Cup, Nations Cup and Can-Am Masters Challenge is
available here: https://panamxccup2020.com/registration/
The final day to confirm participation for the Pan Am Cup was Friday, Dec. 20. Sunday,
Jan. 26, 2020 entries close at 4:00 pm PST or 7:00 pm EST.
On Dec. 5, Team Canada announced 24 athletes who will be competing after the 2019
Canadian Cross-Country Championships took place in Abbotsford, BC (Vancouver
area). Team Canada is ready to go and invites all 41 nations from the Americas to come north to run in this beautiful well-appointed location.
Volunteer opportunities are currently available: https://panamxccup2020.com/registration/volunteer/
Course videos are available here: https://athleticsillustrated.com/pan-am-cross-country-
cup-bid-video-natasha-wodaks-course-preview/
https://athleticsillustrated.com/2020-pan-am-cross-country-cup-course-video-at-bear-mountain-resort-spa/
