What is it they say before the Indianapolis 500 every year? Something about it being "the greatest spectacle in auto racing?"

Now meet "the greatest spectacle in distance running:" The Rio Rancho Cross Country Jamboree.

Fifty-eight cross country teams invade the City of Vision Saturday -- and this will be something to see. It's even bigger than the state meet, which Rio Rancho hosted last year and will again do so this next month.

"The state meet is the biggest one because everyone is involved, but having 1,500 entries - I've never heard of a regular season meet with 56 or 57 schools," said RRHS cross country coach Larry Chavez. "It's going to be a nice little meet, something that the people around here don't normally see."

And "see" is the operative word: From the seats in the stadium, where the meet ends, Chavez said spectators can see about 60 percent of the race, including the finish line -- runners run into the stadium from the south and conclude at about midfield.

With retirement on the horizon -- Chavez said this will be his final year as the harriers' coach and in the spring he'll coach track and field for the final time -- he's not sure what the big meet's legacy will be.

"Next year? I have no idea," he said. "It's nice to go out knowing you were partly responsible for running one of the biggest events in the state."

The race utilizes the same course being used for the state meet, which RRHS also played host to last November. That's the enticement for a lot of teams: getting their runners a preview of what the state meet holds for them. And for other schools, Chavez said, it's a chance for them to run where they might not qualify for by season's end, "so they can say they ran on that course."

The location for the state cross country meets in 2008 and '09 has not been announced; such sites are awarded on two-year bids.

Not every school will be sending its varsity, Chavez said, but most of the state's top distance teams, including the No. 2 team in the nation, Albuquerque Academy, plus Sandia, Eldorado, Cibola, Del Norte, Rio Grande and El Paso's XXXXX High are expected.

Gallup, always a contender for a state championship, pulled out a few weeks ago; La Cueva and a few other metro area teams will be running at the La Cueva Invite -- Chavez said APS requires a meet held in the Duke City every week. Hobbs, he said, is the only other site for a cross country meet this weekend.

Included on the Chargers' roster is senior Ben Johnson, "the top-ranked returning high school runner in the nation," Chavez said.

On the girls side, his son said, "Eldorado leads the big-school division. We'll have the 1-2-5-6-8-9-10 ranked teams: Academy, Sandia, us, Belen, Cibola and Carlsbad ... that's seven of the top 10 teams, he said. Eldorado's Rachel Brown, who did not run in the Eldorado Invite, will be the favorite in the varsity race.

Hilario Chavez, hopeful of being handed the reins to his father's team next season and seeing RRHS get the state meet for the next two years, said, "If we end up hosting (the state meet) again, we'll try hosting (the Jamboree) again. The momentum my dad started, that's what makes it so big -- hosting the state meet."

The field for the big schools (classes 4A and 5A): Rio Rancho, Academy, Gallup, Eldorado, Las Cruces, Mayfield, Oñate, Carlsbad, Artesia, Silver, Kirtland Central, Grants, Belen, Deming, Piedra Vista, St. Pius X, Aztec, Cibola, Lois Lunas, Moriarty, Shiprock, Bernalillo, Sandia, Del Norte and Rio Grande.

Small schools (class A-AAA): West Las Vegas, Robertson, Cobre, Laguna-Acoma, Hope Christian, Valencia, Cloudcroft, Navajo Prep, Navajo Pine, Jemez Valley, Foothills, Sandia Prep, Bosque Prep, Desert Academy, Rehoboth, Tohatchi, Pojoaque, East Mountain, Santa Rosa, Zuni, Mora, Pecos, Maxwell, Cuba, Tucumcari, Peñasco, Santa Fe Prep, Thoreau, Bloomfield, Alamo Navajo and Mesa Vista.

Here is Saturday's schedule:

9:30 big schools varsity girls

10:00 small school varsity girls

10:30 big schools varsity boys

11:00 small school varsity boys

11:30 junior varsity girls

Noon junior varsity boys

12:30 C team girls

1:00 C team boys

Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for students and children.

Bring your binoculars and leave your dogs home is good advice.