Route: Knights of Columbus State College Adventure 5K Race Course
Mileage:  5 kilometers, or 3.1 miles.
Hillage: Mostly flat or gradual hills, but there are a couple of sharp surprises!

Total elevation change: About 120 ft of climbing and descent.
Average Grade: 2%. Notable hills:
 
Bike Path Descent:  After a short rise at the start, the course drops about 80 ft in the first mile.
SC-XC Hill:
 A short but very steep two-tiered little hill on the SC-XC Course at Mile 1.
Long Climb Home
 The course rises about 120 ft. in the mile between Wech Pool and Blue Course Drive.
 
Description:  Start: Stratford Drive just down Stratford, about 200 yards from the Knights of Columbus Hall.

- Proceed on Stratford to Blue Course Drive and make a right.
- Take Blue Course Drive to Bayberry and make a right.
- Get on the Orchard Park Bike Path and follow it to the SCAHS athletic fields.
- Immediately on entering the SCAHS fields, turn right and go up a hill leading to the south end of the track. Head along the outer edge of the perimeter of the field to the east of the track, run behind the tennis courts, then head along the road accessing the back of the South Building complex to the driveway leading to Westerly Parkway.
- Turn left on Westerly and take the sidewalk back to the bike path that runs along the athletic fields.
- Make a left on the Bike Path and return to Orchard Park.
- Head left at the footpath that leads across a short wooden bridge to a path that leads to Southgate Drive.
- Make a right on Southgate and run on the sidewalk.
- At Blue Course, turn right.
- Turn into Orchard Park at the sidewalk that angles to the left at the southern edge of the park, then make a right on the gravel path that meanders by the tennis courts and eventually returns to the Orchard Park Bike Path.
-Turn left on the Bike Path and follow it to the finish at the corner of Bayberry ad Grace.
Remarks: The Knights of Columbus 5K was a very popular race in the late 80s and early 90s, drawing 200-300 runners to a gently rolling course through a quiet residential neighborhood. It was held on the afternoon of the Sunday closest to Columbus Day (October 12). The race was revived for the year 2000. In 2006, to avoid increasing street traffic, the course was revamped to be mostly on bike paths and trails, away from the street. Because of the variety of terrain, the race was renamed the Knights of Columbus State College Adventure 5K.

The topo map below relies on an older survey of State College. Some features, such as the recent extension of Blue Course Drive and some newer neighborhoods are absent.

A map of the old course can be found here.
 
Map:

(Click for a larger zoomable image)
Profile:

    Added: 8/06
    Updated: 8/06

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