Posted: October 22, 2004

Athletics: $5,000 GVH Cross Country Invitational Set For November 14

Many of North America’s top club teams and individuals will be on hand as Rochester’s Genesee Valley Harriers host the 4th Annual $5,000 GVH Cross Country Invitational on Sunday, November 14 at Genesee Valley Park.

The Indiana Invaders, the Brooks-Hanson Olympic Development Program, The Philadelphia Track Club, the Bryn Mawr Track Club , the Toronto Olympic Club, the Boston AA, the Syracuse Chargers and the Westchester TC are all schedule to send teams.

The event will serve as a ‘dry-run” for the venue that will host the 2005 US National Club Cross Country Championships. This years’ event will also be the last big-time open cross country event in the east prior to this years National Club Championships in Portland, OR.

The GVH XC Invitational will also serve as the 2004 USATF Niagara Association Senior Men’s & Women’s Championship and the Annual Canada vs. USA Masters Dual Meet. The winning country will take home the Fleishman Cup, emblematic of Masters cross country supremacy in North America.

Individual and team entry forms as well as results from previous GVH Invite’s can be found by going to: PeteGlavin.com.

 
RACE SCHEDULE
9:30am: USA vs. CANADA Masters Men's 6km
10:15am: USA vs. CANADA Masters Women's 
& Championship Women's 6km
11:00am: Championship Men's 8km

PRIZE MONEY & AWARDS:
A minimum of $5,000 will be awarded to the top finishing teams and individuals in the Championship Men's & Women's races. To be eligible for prize money, teams and individuals must be registered with their country’s governing body (USATF/CTFA, etc) prior to the race.

TEAM PRIZE MONEY:
1st Place M/W: $750.00
2nd Place M/W: $400.00
3rd Place M/W: $300.00
4th Place M/W: $200.00
INDIVIDUAL PRIZE MONEY:
1st Place M/W: $300.00 
2nd Place M/W: $175.00
3rd Place M/W: $150.00
4th Place M/W: $125.00
5th Place M/W: $100.00

NOTE: Checks will be mailed to prize money recipients once their eligibility is verified.

T-shirts awarded to the Top 10 Open Men and Open Women finishers. Trophies to the top finishing Masters (40+) and Veteran (50+) Male and Female.

Awards Ceremony and a $7.95 all-you-can-eat brunch to follow the GVH Invitational at nationally reknowned Bennigans Bar & Grill, located inside the Clarion Riverside Hotel in Downtown Rochester, which will serve as the host hotel for this year's event (and the 2005 US Club Championships).

ENTRY FEES:
$10.00 Pre-Registration (received by Nov. 9). Teams of 7 or more can deduct $2 per entry.
$12.00 Post-registration

TEAM SCORING: Unlimited entries per team with the top 5 finishers for each team counting (by place) in the team scoring and runner’s 6, 7 & 8 displacing.

COMPUTER & CHAMPIONCHIP TIMING BY:
Leone Timing & Results Services

INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pete Glavin: pglavin@rochester.rr.com.

ABOUT THE RACE SITE:
A favorite spot for runners, golfers and cross-country skiers, Genesee Valley Park is one of the oldest in the Monroe County Parks System.

The "South Park" was named Genesee Valley Park in deference to the area's Indian heritage--and of course its major feature, the Genesee River. The naturally occurring, rolling pastoral fields of the area were emphasized in this 800-acre park's design by Frederick Law Olmsted.

Genesee Valley Park is well known to thousands of cross-country runners of all ages as the site of the McQuaid Invitational, the largest high-school sponsored cross-country invitational in the country.

With it’s 40th running this fall, the meet attracted nearly 5000 athletes from 250 schools in 8 states and the Canadian province of Ontario.

HOW TO GET THERE:
The New York State Thruway (Route 90) will take you into Rochester. Once there, Genesee Valley Park is located along the eastern bank of the Genesee River within the City of Rochester. Enter the park from Elmwood Avenue at Wilson Boulevard, East River Road or Crittenden Road.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A rolling, European-style 2000 meter loop course that is all grass with long 400 meter straightaways and sweeping turns.

COURSE TOURS:
Will be available at Genesee Valley Park on Saturday, November 13 from 2:00-5:00pm for those interested teams and individuals wishing to inspect the course. Packet pick-up and post-registration will also be available during this time.

MEET HEADQUARTERS:
The Clarion Riverside Hotel
120 East Main Street
Rochester, NY 14604
(585) 546-6400
(888) 596-6400

A block of 30 rooms has been reserved for the great price of $69.00 + tax for single/double. This rate is good until Friday, November 6. Please make sure to mention GVH Invitational when reserving rooms.

The Clarion Riverside Hotel is conveniently located in the center of downtown Rochester, overlooking the Genesee River and just 4 miles from Genesee Valley Park.

A Saturday evening hospitality suite, hosted by the Genesee Valley Harriers, will be available to all athletes and with Sunday's post-race party at Bennigan's, the Clarion is the only place to stay for this years' GVH Invite!

Contact:
Pete Glavin
585-720-9252
PO Box 16375
Rochester, NY 14616
www.gvh.net