Most commonly in Iowa meets are on golf courses, some are on college courses (in NW Iowa that would be Dordt), and once in a while you'll get a true "cross country" course. West Lyon runs their event around Lake Pahoja in Lyon county every year which has hills, sand, goes through trees on actual trails, etc. In my view that's what a true cross country course is.
As far as spectating, there's a few different ways. Some people follow their runner from turn to turn (easy on a golf course because they run down fairways so you just cross the fairway perpendicular to the hole), some people set up at a spot somewhere along the course and stay there, and some people set up at the finish line. Most courses the starting gates are pretty close to the finish, so what I do is walk over to watch the start and hit a stopwatch on my phone when the gun goes off, because I know within just a few seconds what my son runs a 5K in. That way I know pretty much where he's at in the race distance-wise.
I personally don't chase the race. I get nervous as hell for some reason so I watch the start and then go about 200M from wherever the finish line is to cheer my son on as he goes by and kicks to the finish (and his teammates). Because I start a stopwatch on the phone I know within a handful of seconds when he'll be coming by. Once the race is over I walk down to the finish where everyone is gathered to look at times, places, etc, and talk to my kid and his teammates. I know most all of them from me being a coach at our school.
The nervousness thing is weird for me because I'm not that type of guy. I never get nervous coaching, didn't' have a problem with it when I played sports, and even coaching my kid I don't get nervous when he's up to bat or whatever. Cross country is the only thing that happens in...I have no explanation. I get super worked up so I purposely walk away after the start and I make it a point to never watch any of the middle of the race. Essentially I see the start of the race and the last 45 seconds or so.
Having said that, everything about the experience is super chill and it's soooooo much nicer to watch than football, basketball, or baseball. All the coaches, parents, and runners from all teams are super friendly and encouraging to one another, there's lots of hugs and high-fives, and congratulations between everyone. My kid has made great friends with runners from other teams which you don't typically see in other sports. I never knew there was such an inviting and supportive community in high school sports...I wish I'd have gotten into it earlier. There's no aggro, alpha male shit going on.
Also don't want to leave out that it's not just one race you get to watch. In Iowa there's a junior high 1 or 2 mile race depending on where you're at, and then there's a JV girls 5K, JV boys 5K, Varsity girls 5K, and lastly Varsity boys 5K. There's plenty to watch. Grab your lawn chair, take a cooler of food and drinks, and just chill out under a tree somewhere. If I were you I'd go to one even if you don't have kids running to check it out and support your school. You'll have fun.
www.mycountyparks.com
hamptonchronicle.com
