It's a tradition. For people who ran the state meet here 20 or more years ago, the tradition needs no explanation. For those without that connection, it's not always immediately apparent what the magic of this course is.
And, the course itself was vastly improved over last year's version of the course. Minor flooding in Pueblo late last summer left the low end of this course a mess a debris and dead grass, and a hazard to unsuspecting ankles.
Last year may have been the worst in the 55-year history of the meet in terms of course conditions. But conditions were very much back up to traditional norms this year. The course looked very much like the Elmwood Short Nine of old.
And, as so often seems to happen with the Pueblo Central Invitational, cooler temperatures prevailed. And, that helped lay the foundation for a nice set of times.