"The back page".Team Maryland Wins the Battle Inaugural Cross Country Race is a "Border War" One team wore red, the other donned blue. No, this was not a reenactment re·en·act also re-en·act tr.v. re·en·act·ed, re·en·act·ing, re·en·acts 1. To enact again: reenact a law. 2. scene from a Revolutionary War Battle or a Civil War battle. This was the scene of the first ever Maryland vs. Virginia cross country meet. ARA Ara or Arrah (both: ŭ`rə), city (1991 pop. 157,082), Bihar state, NE India, on the Son Canal. A major road and rail junction, it is the administrative center for a district that produces grain, sugarcane, and oilseed. has its roots in grassroots running. Running cross country is one of the most grueling gru·el·ing also gru·el·ling adj. Physically or mentally demanding to the point of exhaustion: a grueling campaign. gru and physically challenging sports in high school and college. For many Americans, simply walking and ultimately running is a tiring task. What better sport to showcase as inspiration to other kids, adults, and parents than a cross country meet pitting two neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. states, separated by a river, in a "battle on the fields of cross country." Background on the "Battle of the Potomac" XC Championship How did the American Running Association get involved in developing and producing a cross country race for high school runners? It started with our push or cause of youth fitness. Three years ago, we committed to raising awareness Raising awareness is a common phrase advocacy groups use to justify a particular event, brochure or even the entire organization. Raising awareness refers to alerting the general public that a certain issue exists and should be approached the way the group desires. and developing programs for youth involving running and walking-running. Our goal was simple: get more children and youth moving, first by walking and ultimately running. As our efforts got stalled stall 1 n. 1. A compartment for one domestic animal in a barn or shed. 2. a. A booth, cubicle, or stand used by a vendor, as at a market. b. or faced fundraising challenges, our Board decided that producing or getting involved with actual running events was a path to take. We settled on the idea of a cross country race, in part because of the simplicity and the ease with which you can produce races on or near school grounds. No roads would be needed and grass was preferable to asphalt asphalt (ăs`fôlt, –fălt), brownish-black substance used commonly in road making, roofing, and waterproofing. Chemically, it is a natural mixture of hydrocarbons. . Our organization grew out of key volunteers and sponsors from our American Running Honors Galas. I had two key volunteers who were avid AVID Cardiology A clinical trial–Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators that compared the effect of implantable defibrillators vs the best medical therapy–antiarrhythmics for survivors of MI or those with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia runners. One had a child who was entering high school and was going to run cross country. I had the same interest. My daughter was also a freshman going out for cross country. On the sponsor side, top leadership from Nike backed our youth fitness efforts and gave American Running the funds required to promote and produce a new cross country event. Youth Runner magazine and website joined into a partnership that resulted in a new event website and an event program. The format of the "Battle of the Potomac" or so aptly nicknamed, the XC Border War across the Potomac was based on Nike's highly successful "BORDER CLASH (WA vs. OR). Our Battle XC event ended up being scheduled on the same weekend as the Nike Border Clash in Oregon. Four races were scheduled: two elite 5K championship races and two Open races. The participants for the two elite 5Ks were ultimately selected based on the finishes at the VA and MD state championship meets. We also attended top private school championship meets and issued several invitations. Promotion and race field development: The race leadership split into two teams, one covering the end of season championship races in Maryland and the other team covering the Virginia championship races. Since we were a new race, we had to do a significant amount of promoting and PR. We handed out over 250 free t-shirts at regional championship meets. All invited runners at the two state meets received a complimentary promotional t-shirt. We decided upon a formula for free invites to the top girl and boy finishers at the state meet. We also opted to invite some top runners whose teams did not qualify to run in the state meets and they just missed qualifying as individuals. Our newness caused some coaches and runners to decline participation, so we had to expand our invitation pool. In the end, we managed to lure some of the best public and private school XC boys and girls boys and girls mercurialisannua. to come run. Our boys race winner was from a private school in the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). ; he lived in Maryland ran for Team MD. What lures did we offer besides a good competition? One was the free Nike Singlet to all elite race participants and the first 100 OPEN competitors. The other was the free barbecue barbecue [West Indian or South American], in the United States, traditionally an open-air gathering, political or social, in which meats are roasted whole over a pit of embers and food and drink are liberally enjoyed. chicken dinner to all participating elite runners. As race day approached, we included all the registered runners for the free dinner. We also promised medals to the top 15 finishers in each race. Scoring. The elite races for boys and girls determined the winning team (MD or VA). We scored the race by the number of finishers for the smallest team in each race. For example, the VA elite girl's team had 15 members, so the first 15 runners for each state would score for their team. The scores of the two elite races were combined to determine the winner of the Battle of the Potomac. We had two honorary coaches, one for Virginia and the other for Maryland. The winning team's coach earned the "Battle of the Potomac Cup". The real winners that day were the runners who took a chance on our new XC event. The camaraderie ca·ma·ra·der·ie n. Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship. [French, from camarade, comrade, from Old French, roommate; see comrade. and genuine fun was equally prevalent. Kids who only heard about other runners via website results were now either teammates or competitors. The future for cross country post-season events is booming. The limit is the calendar and the willingness of state federations, high school coaches, parents and runners themselves to commit to x-number of post-State meet competitions. For American Running, we are committed to expanding this new event. In 2007, we will add a middle school race. 2007 Boston Marathon Boston marathon famous 26-mile race held annually for long-distance runners. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc.] See : Endurance Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. Entries for Medical Professionals Invitational entries to run the Boston Marathon with AMAA AMAA Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 AMAA American Medical Athletic Association AMAA American Maine-Anjou Association AMAA Afghan Medical Association of America AMAA Armenian Missionary Association of America, Inc. are on sale through mid-February. Once again, AMAA is privileged to offer 150 special entries into the Boston Marathon. ARA members who are allied health professionals are eligible to purchase a special entry into the Boston Marathon. These entries are unique and limited. AMAA (then AMJA) was instrumental in setting the medical standards that exist at marathons in the U.S. It all began in Boston. The entries include admission to the 36th Annual AMAA Boston Marathon Symposium. The Symposium will take place once again at the Colonnade colonnade (kŏlənād`), a row of columns usually supporting a roof. Colonnades were popular with the Greeks and Romans, who employed them in the stoa and the portico; they have continued to be used throughout the Middle Ages, the Hotel on the Saturday and Sunday April 14-15 before Marathon Monday. The cost is $1325 and supports AMAA and ARA programs and publications throughout the year. This package is a great deal compared to any other "non-qualified entry or waiver The voluntary surrender of a known right; conduct supporting an inference that a particular right has been relinquished. The term waiver is used in many legal contexts. entry". The race invitational entry fee increased this year and is reflected in the AMAA Run Boston package price. The AMAA staff will provide a cost breakdown for anyone who purchases the Run Boston package. Any allied health professional is eligible for the Run with AMAA package. The other requirements include joining AMAA and being able to finish a marathon in less than 6 hours. The Run Boston package can be securely purchased online at the AMAA website (www.amaasportsmed.org). Click on the RUN icon on the home page. EDITORIAL BOARD Kenneth Cooper, MD BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bill Young, President |
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