The mud pits, mounds and logs will be familiar. The hills will not.
The Australian Cross Country Championships returns to Victoria Park in Ballarat on 22 August with a course that, on paper at least, looks considerably more demanding than the one athletes tackled 12 months ago. While many of the artificial obstacles remain, the 2026 layout has been tightened from 2km and 3km loops into shorter and twistier 1km and 2km loops ,and appears to pack in roughly twice as much climbing per kilometre as last year’s course.
It is not simply the amount of elevation that stands out, but how it is delivered. Rather than long, rolling rises that allow athletes to find a rhythm, the new course is punctuated by a series of short, sharp — and occasionally sadistic — climbs. One rise on the 1km loop gains around six to seven metres in barely 50 metres, an average gradient of roughly 13–15 per cent, while a climb midway through the 2km circuit appears steeper again.
The result should be a very different type of race. Rhythm will be harder to find, repeated accelerations will exact a greater price, and athletes who can combine aerobic strength with power, balance and efficient hill running may find themselves with an advantage as the laps — and the climbs — accumulate.
