Clemson Introduces New Cross Country Home Course

Aug. 13, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson cross country teams will have the advantage of a new home course this fall. For the first time since 2006, the Tigers will play host to a meet with the running of the Clemson Invitational on Friday, Sept. 17. The event will be held at Musser Farms, a peach orchard and fruit tree research center located just nine miles from the heart of campus. Click on the photo gallery link above to see a few snapshots of Musser Farms.

“”We’re excited to be playing host to our first cross country meet in years,” Johnson said. “Musser Farms will prove to be an outstanding home course location for the Tigers, as we continue to show our commitment to being a total program.”

The facility is located on South Friendship Rd. on a peninsula of Lake Hartwell. The course will cover 8,000 meters for the men’s race on Sept. 17, and 5,000 meters for the women’s teams. The venue is a rolling hills course that offers plenty of good sightlines for coaches, families and fans.

The property was discovered by assistant coach Brad Herbster in the offseason, who first learned of Musser Farms after a meeting with the head of Clemson’s agricultural department. Herbster feels the Tigers have settled on an exciting venue for years to come.

“Fans will be able to see a lot of racing,” he said. “It’s spectator-friendly. It has a couple of loops. For the 8K, it crosses over to the other side of Musser Farms. Then they’ll hit a back loop, and that part will be a little bit harder to see for spectators. You can see the start, the finish, and a lot of mile marks. It should be a really good course.

“It fits perfectly for us, because we’re still in outdoor track during peach season. They’ll let us run the place once peach season is over. Having access when we need it will be great.”

Clemson’s cross country camp is set for Friday and Saturday, with the official start to the season coming Sept. 3 in Columbia at the Gamecock Invitational.