The Brooks XC Midwest Regional was held on November 29, 2025. I went there the week after the NIKE Cross Regional in the Southwest.
The drive down to Kenosha was treacherous, and the drive back was dangerous: two hours down, three hours back (a truck jackknifed on a small highway).
The trip was worth the driving, as I truly enjoyed talking to the young athletes and their families. I was impressed by the UW Parkside XC and Track team who supported the event, and of course, the team from Wisconsin Runner, with the iconic Peter Henkes, whom I have known for nearly 4 decades.
The UW Parkside cross-country course is an honest cross-country course. This isn’t a glorified road race; it has tough footing, but also iconic cross-country culture. We at RunBlogRun rank it among our top five US cross-country courses.
The Brooks XC series is a great series, even though the sponsors, Brooks and Fleet Feet, don’t seem to understand how to promote the event to high school runners or coaches. We believe that’s because budgets were very tight after last year’s event purchases. We are trying to get the word out for these two brands that support high school sports with intention.
Good people coming together to give high school kids a shot at their dreams.
To sign up for a Brooks XC Regional, please click here: https://www.runblogrun.com/2026/09/time-to-register-for-brooks-xc-regional-events.html?swcfpc=1
