Saucony, Run Alberta, Cross Country Series 2008

(c) Christopher Kelsall - 2008 - All Rights Reserved.

September 4th, 2008 - Athletics Alberta - Athletics Alberta, The Running Room and Saucony officially announced today through Athletics Alberta's, website (www.athleticsalberta.com) a new pilot project for fall 2008, The Saucony, Run Alberta Cross Country Series.

The series is presented by Athletics Alberta while Saucony and The Running Room are the main sponsors.

Goals are to: 

• Increase awareness of cross country in Alberta
  
• To encourage mass participation in cross country running
  
• Provide a series of 5 competitive races for aged 18+ cross country athletes.
  

Races are located close to the major population centres in the cities of Red Deer, Edmonton, Calgary and Canmore.

5 races are included in the series, where 4 count towards series standings. In order to qualify 1 of the 4 races must be the series championships, 5k for women and an open 8k, November 15th in Edmonton. This will ensure strong numbers for the main event.

The main event is the Stewart Memorial Cross Country Cup, which in the past has been run in conjunction with the Alberta Provincial Cross Country Championships. The mandate of the Sewart Memorial Cross Country Cup is to encourage participation in the Provincial Cross Country Championships and to send a strong contingent of masters to the Canadian National Cross Country Championships.

Q&A with Spokesperson, Matthew Morminton in Edmonton, Alberta:

CK: Matt, Pilot Project means what to Saucony and Athletics AB? Is this a 'build it and they will come scenario'? Operating this series in 2009, I assume will be contingent upon participation? 

MN: The whole pilot project designation means that we are not totally sure what the 2009 series will look like or going beyond 2009. I know Athletics Alberta is committed to making this a long term thing and hopefully Saucony will be interested in carrying forward as our title sponsor in 2009 and beyond. It's really great to have a company like Saucony on board helping us get this thing going.

CK: What are the expectations for the series, numbers wise? 

MN: Great question, I'm not  totally sure what to expect. We are a bit late in getting this launched, but I would love to see more mass participation like what occurs in Europe where you can get 1000+ people out to run cross country races. That might not happen in Alberta this year, but I don't see why it can't be our goal for 3 or 4 years down the road.

CK: Are there plans to extend the series in the future if interest is shown in 2008?

MN: Absolutely Chris. We are using the Timex Road Racing Series as our model and we are planning on keeping this series going indefinitely. The only things that may change are the details.

Complete Information available at the Athletics Alberta website

Join the Run Alberta Cross Country Series, Facebook Group here.

Age-Group awards are to be determined however, cash prizing is as follows:

_______________________________________

Chris is a member of the Lydiard Foundation

Contact: chriskelsall@flocasts.org 

Post a Comment

Enter Your Name

or Login Here

Please enter this code to post comment. Login to skip Captcha.