Located in a bucolic setting on the east side of Louisville, E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park (Sawyer) features one of America’s few championship-caliber 10K, 8K, 6K and 5K cross country course systems located in an urban area with nearby hotels, restaurants and other amenities. The course also has a long history of hosting championship events.
The Kentucky High School state championships were held on the property of what was then Central State Hospital for several decades, beginning in the early 1960s. The state park was established on the property in 1974 and, during the 1980s, hosted several Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and USA Track & Field championships. In the 1990s, Sawyer hosted the USA Track & Field Masters National Championships six times at both the 8K and 10K distances under the guidance of the now-defunct Victory Athletic Club of Louisville.
In preparation for collegiate competition, the course was redesigned in 2001 under the leadership of Louisville Sports Commission staff with support from USA Track & Field and NAIA officials. Since 2003, Sawyer has hosted 16 NCAA and NAIA national championships, along with numerous NCAA and NAIA regional championships and Division I and Division II conference championships. For the past 25 years, the Louisville Sports Commission has staged the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic (now the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic) at Sawyer, annually one of the largest collegiate meets in the United States.
Below is a list of major cross country events held at Sawyer:
1960 – 1980 Kentucky High School State Championships
1980 National AAU Championships
1981 USA Track & Field World Team Trials
1982 AAU Junior Regionals
1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999 USA Track & Field Masters Nationals
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 NAIA National Championships
2002 – 2017 Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic
2010, 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships
2012, 2015, 2017 NCAA Division I National Championships
2016, 2019, 2021 NCAA Division III National Championships
2017 ACC Cross Country Championships