Runners take off from the starting line at the 2023 Class C cross country state championship race at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Many Maine high school cross country coaches are quick to say it: Twin Brook Recreational Area in Cumberland and Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast are among the best courses in the state.

But that’s where the comparisons end. Both courses provide their own set of challenges, as well as their own scenery. Both will be on display Saturday, as Troy Howard hosts the Northern Maine regional championships, while Twin Brook hosts the South regionals.

Troy Howard’s course, nestled just to the side of the school off U.S. Route 1, is a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) loop that circles baseball, softball and football fields. It’s been the home of the Festival of Champions, the state’s biggest regular-season race, for 23 years. This year, 96 teams from throughout New England and the Canadian Maritimes competed.

“For us, most of the (courses) we run contain a fair amount of hills,” said Mt. Blue’s head coach, Kelley Cullenberg. “When we get to (Troy Howard), we know it’s a fast course, traditionally. I think kids get really excited about what they might be able to do on a course that is a lot flatter in terrain than what we’ve seen all season.”

“I like how (durable) the course is, even when it rains. And it’s not going to rain (Saturday), so the course is going to be super fast,” said Hampden Academy’s head coach, Danielle Johnson. “I like how well it’s maintained. I know the people in Belfast put in a lot of time and effort to maintain it. I think that’s really important.”

The Troy Howard course is not entirely flat, but it does feature some long straightaways, particularly after the first mile. Runners and coaches refer to that half-mile stretch as the “Super Highway.”

Runners routinely set personal records at Troy Howard and, on occasion, course records. On Oct. 5, Sean Gray of Cumberland, Rhode Island, won the boys’ race at the Festival with a time of 14 minutes, 55.56 seconds, setting course and race records. The girls’ record holder is Orono High graduate Ruth White, who finished in 16:56.92 at last year’s Festival.

“Kids like to run fast,” said Portland Coach Frank Myatt, who led the Bulldogs to the Class A boys’ state title last year. “You’re always running against good competition (there), you’ll have someone to run with. It’s very rare for kids to end up in no-man’s land over there. With a pretty fast course, you set up a formula to run fast (and) feel good about it after you’re done.”

Though it doesn’t have any big hills, Troy Howard does present a small challenge near the 2.5-mile mark, known as the ‘Gollywhoppers’ to runners and coaches. It is a short but potent incline as runners come out of the woods and enter the final stretch of the race. The course is surrounded by woods, giving a scenic backdrop of October fall foliage.

“There’s fields at Troy Howard, and each field feels a little different,” Cullenberg said. “Yes, there are some repeats, but not a boring repeat. There are some man-made hills. There’s the Gollywhoppers. There’s those two really quick, up-and-down steep hills that kind of change the pace of what’s going on. There’s no time to get stale (on the course).”

Runners take off at the start of the 2022 Class A boys’ cross country championship race at Twin Brook Recreation Area in Cumberland. Carl D. Walsh/Portland Press Herald file

Added Johnson: “Each mile is really different in how to attack (the course). I think it makes the kids think tactfully about the race. They would say the hardest part is always the Gollywhoppers, that it takes some steam out of their legs. They know that going in. We always put a bunch of our fans (near that area) to get (runners) back into it, because it’s near the end of the race.”

Some coaches and runners say the Twin Brook’s 5K course is slower compared with Troy Howard.

It provides plenty of open space – the start and finish are in an open field – but a large chunk of the race cuts through multiple trails in the woods adjacent to the fields. It also has far more hills, providing a challenge for all runners. The boys’ course record is 15:32.00, set by Donn Cabral of Glastonbury High of Connecticut at the 2007 New England championships. The girls’ record is 17:51.74, set by Sofie Matson of Falmouth in the 2019 Class A South regional.

“There’s a lot of up and down (running), it’s a hilly course,” Myatt said. “It’s a classic cross country course. There’s no real long, sustained climbs. … I call it ‘the rollercoaster effect.’ You have a lot of ups, a lot of downs. You’ve got to be really smart about how you race it or you’re going to lose your legs out there and not have any (energy) to respond with at the tail end of the course.”

Morse Coach Brent Luchies noted the impact of the “Pain Cave,” a hill near the end of the Twin Brook course, the last challenge for runners. Those who successfully tackle the hill are rewarded with a downhill slope to the finish line.

“(Twin Brook) can really get into the heads of the runners, it’s definitely a challenging course,” he said. “There’s lots of (rolling hills), in that last mile, in particular. They’ve got the ‘Pain Cave’, and everyone knows what the ‘Pain Cave’ is. … You’ve just got to be mentally ready. There’s going to be hills – how are you going to respond to the top of those hills? The last 800 meters, you know it’s going to be uncomfortable. How do you respond to that?”

Freeport Coach Matt Greear concurred.

“It’s fairly steep, I wouldn’t say it’s huge,” Greear said. “I think Greely must have labeled it the ‘Pain Cave’ at some point. Everybody kind of knows about it. When you’ve been working hard for a little under three miles and, all of a sudden, you have a big hill like that, it can take the wind out of your sails.”

Regardless of the course, the strategy for teams at the regional meets remains the same, particularly for those looking ahead to competing for a state championship.

“The regionals are all about advancing,” Myatt said. “At this point (in the season), it’s about feeling good and running well. You need to beat two things: You need to beat your opponents, and you need to beat the course.”