In 2019, with the urging of @Mike_S, we worked with the PGXC organizers to create a 19-and-under age group category so homeschoolers and other kids who weren’t running on middle-school or high-school teams could have the opportunity to race cross country alongside their parents.
We fielded a team at each of the meets that year, and it was a huge success. One kid even leaned on his father to run in the Akron Falls race (most of the way to Buffalo) so the kid could race as well. Warms the cockles of the heart, it does (and helped our masters team too!)
The U19 category is in place for the PGXC series again this year, and series organizers Mike Nier and Colleen Newman just reminded us that the cost is only $50 for kids for the entire five-race series, down from $70 for adults.
So, if your child would like to race two 5Ks, two 6Ks, and an 8K this fall, especially if they’re doing the FLRC Kids Challenge now, sign them up for the FLRC team in the series! We strongly encourage parents to run too, but it’s certainly fine if you can’t run due to an injury or other problem.
For the PGXC race series, do the kids all run in the Under 19 category or are their sub categories? My 10 year old is interested but isn’t sure about going up against a 19 year old…
Thanks
There’s only a single race for everyone, @kristina.harrisonsav, so your kid would likely be running near older adults during the actual event. I don’t know how many other teams will be fielding U19 teams, but two years ago, our runners were largely unopposed (numerous individual and team wins, lots of chocolate!)
The two groups I’ve noticed liking the U19 team are kids who are too young to run modified cross country in middle school and homeschoolers, who can’t compete on school teams. There have been a few 19-year-olds, but it’s mostly younger teens.
And I’m sure that @tonya-engst would love to have you running on the women’s team!
I signed Ryan up for the race on Sunday. He is very excited for it. I know it’s too late for a shirt so is there a “team color” that everyone likes to wear? Any tips or suggestions for Sunday? This is our first foray into cross country….
No, nothing specific for uniforms. We’ll all talk at the meet and see what size everyone is—perhaps FLRC can get a couple of shirts made locally for the subsequent races.
