Bend wins bid to host XC National Championships

Bend officials announced Tuesday the city has been chosen to host the 2016-17 USATF Cross Country National Championships. The race fields about 800 competitors, and like any other big event, it’s an attraction.

Visit Bend estimates the race will bring about 3,000 people to Bend next February, and that could have a $1 million impact on Bend’s economy.

“In a sense, it’s kind of like the Olympic trials of cross country running,” said Max King of Bend, the U.S. record-holder in the 100K.

“I definitely believe that an event like this will help move the needle significantly in a month like February,” said Kezney Dugan, director of sales and sports development at Visit Bend.

That’s how big it is for Bend to host the Cross Country National Championships.

According to Dugan, an event like this can help Bend prosper in the winter months.

“We’ve seen what’s happened in the summer,” Dugan said. “Summer is awesome in town, in terms of a tourism standpoint. We just know that winter really needs some of our effort.”

With the help of prominent local runners, the bid to get the national championships in Bend was submitted last October.

“And so you work with those guys as a running community, what do they want to see? And luckily, Bend has got a lot of those assets.” Dugan said.

One of those local runners is King, who has always wanted to bring an iconic race to his hometown.

“My goal with having cross country here is just to bring kind of that history of cross country in the United States to a town like Bend.” King said.

The national championships will be in Bend for two years, with the race in 2017 also being for a spot in the World Championships, which will be held in Uganda.

“Whenever you get that chance to kind of cut your teeth into one, and be able to go at it and be more of an expert in Year 2, there’s a lot of fun to be had,” Dugan said.

King said the national championship is one of the most competitive races in cross country. King once finished that very race in third place.

“Cross country is not in the Olympics, so this is the biggest stage cross country racers are going to compete on in the calendar year,” King said.

King will be acting as course director, but that’s not stopping him from lining up with the competition.

“Just as an athlete, I’m really excited to — in Bend — be able to race it,” King said. “I can actually roll out of my bed in the morning and go down to the course and get ready for it. So that’s kind of cool.”

Visit Bend said it will have more on the economic impact of the race as we get closer to next February.