Rim Rock Farm, sitting amongst the most revered cross-country courses in America per NCAA, is soaked in history and tradition. The Kansas Jayhawks’ home course captivates spectators and runners alike with its dramatic scenery and complex features, presenting a challenging circuit that commands admiration.
Rim Rock serves primarily as the University of Kansas’ home course. In addition, the 3A, 5A and 6A Kansas High School Cross-Country Championships belong to the course, as well as the annual Rim Rock Classic: a high school competition that brings in roughly 3,000 athletes from surrounding states.
Former KU runner and current head cross country coach Steve Heffernan became a full-time tenant of the property upon the request of previous owner and visionary Bob Timmons after it was donated to KU in 2004.
“I’ve been working on [Rim Rock] for 35 years,” Heffernan said. “It’s seasonal, and unfortunately, being a teacher, the most intense setup happens in late July and early August. One year I tracked the time, and it’s about 500-to-600 hours of upkeep every year.”
Heffernan, who raised his kids on the farm, said that he is not only grateful for the memories made with his family but that his runners get to experience Rim Rock and make memories of their own.
“My favorite part of Rim Rock is the scenery,” senior runner Neely Morrison said. “Kansas has a subtle beauty that really shines at Rim Rock, and you can really see how much love and care is put into maintaining it.”
The scenery Morrison mentions is continuous throughout the course — in addition to two covered bridges, a skyline finish and beautiful red maple trees surrounding multiple ponds, Rim Rock has eight metal silhouettes honoring runners who have run the course.
The requirements include being either an NCAA XC Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, or world record holder; Billy Mills, Jim Ryun and Jon Lawson are all members of the immortalized batch.
“Three of them out there are of my body,” Heffernan said. “When they were looking for pictures from the 60’s, they had such a limited range of them because they didn’t start doing [the silhouettes] until the 90’s.”
Gardener-Edgerton alumnus and senior cross-country runner at KU Quenton Walion has had the experience of racing Rim Rock since his days in middle school. Wailon noted the finishing stretch on the course, a cherished feeling that is almost indescribable to him.
“It’s one of the most special finishes in any cross-country course in the nation,” Walion said. “It is such a cool experience to come out of the woods, see the whole course and the crowd, and gun it for the line. As a spectator — you watch the runners come out of the trees; who knows what happened down in the hilly part of the section, but someone is either going to emerge victorious or you’ve got a sprint finish.”
What sets Rim Rock apart from other places is that it is a cross-country course that is solely purposed for cross country, a seldom trait in most courses across the world.
“A runners magazine was looking for cross-country courses across the world that were maintained only for the sport of cross-country, and Rimrock was one,” Heffernan said. “At the time, there was another one in New Zealand that existed … there’s a lot of great historic courses, but they also usually have a dual role.”
The course can hold a special place for many runners.
“When runners show up, some of them do get emotional about it,” Heffernan said. “They understand that this is for them as runners. It’s a non-heralded sport, so any little bit of extra attention that comes their way [is deeply appreciated].”
