About Race Hawks

The map I wish I’d had.

Hi, I’m Asher Zaczepinski, a junior cross country runner at Santa Monica High School. I came up with the idea for Race Hawks at the end of my freshman season and have been building it ever since.

It started as a way to prep for my next race. Over time it grew into full flyovers, elevation data, and race-strategy tools. These days it takes up most of my free time after practice. I hope it helps you and your team prep for courses and chase PRs.

Asher Zaczepinski racing in a Santa Monica High School cross country jersey — Asher Zaczepinski
Santa Monica High School XC

Where it started

My first XC meet, and one nasty hill.

Laguna Hills was my very first XC meet, and the paper map below was about all I had going in. I knew there was a “Hawk Hill” (not related in any way to Race Hawks), but I had no idea how brutal it actually was.

I went out at a pace I couldn’t hold, and the hill wrecked me. By the final stretch my legs were gone.

Paper course map of the Kevin Dempsey Cross Country Course at Laguna Hills High School — All I had going in (Hawk Hill circled)

Runners climbing the steep dirt slope of Hawk Hill at the Laguna Hills cross country course — The real Hawk Hill (from PoMan Productions Video)

Me sprinting the final stretch of my first cross country race, visibly dying — Me (in the SAMO jersey) dying because I misjudged the hill

The fix

What Race Hawks does.

Every course gets a full flyover video, so you can watch the whole route from above before you ever step on it. Elevation and grade are laid out along the way, so you know exactly where the hills are and how steep they get. No more finding out about a Hawk Hill the hard way.

Then there’s the strategy side: pick a goal time and build your race plan split by split, adjusted for the terrain. You’ll know where to hold back and where to push. By race day the course already feels like a home course, and you can hawk down your competitors : )

MILE1.63 mi

ELEV177 ft

GRADE+6%

Climbing Hawk Hill on Laguna Hills, miles 1.63–1.72 (red = steep).

A real 18:40 plan for Laguna Hills, live, split by split.