2000 Upstate New York Cross Country Series in Progress

The boys of autumn are back in business. Take a little mud, and grass and mean terrain with names like "Death Mountain," add a gallon of testosterone, and you've got the 2000 Upstate New York Cross Country Series.

It was a nail-biter, but Ithaca's High Noon Athletic Club masters (ages 40-49) and veterans (ages 50-up) teams won their respective divisional championships last year in the prestigious lineup of turf wars. In recent years, High Noon has had difficulty fielding a women's team, although the Syracuse Chargers and Genesee Valley Harriers have many female recruits.

Created 11 years ago by Rochester's Peter Glavin, the series of five cross country races for men and women range in distance from 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) to 8 kilometers (4.9 miles), and are presented on different sites across central and western New York.

The season opener was Sept. 16, with a 5K race at Ultra-Tech Park in Newark.

Is High Noon ready to defend its titles?

"It's hard to say, but most of our personnel is back," said coach Rick Hoebeke, who remained undefeated in '99 in the men's 50-59 individual competition. "Our 40s team will be strong, with Bruce Roebal, Casey Carlstrom, Tim Ingall, Rick Cleary and Ron Hulslander running well. Most of our 50s team is back too, but they've changed the scoring this year to count the top three instead of the top five. The Checkers team (Buffalo) will be our closest (rival). But we're looking forward to the season."

The Upstate New York Cross Country Series caters to men and women well beyond their scholastic and collegiate running careers. Individual age categories are divided into three divisions for men and women: open, masters and veterans. Team competition is an integral part of each individual meet, but you need not be on a team to enter a of the races.

To be eligible for the series-end awards, individuals and teams must complete at least three of the five series' races, including the final Championchip Day meet.

At the conclusion of the series, the top 10 in open men, open women and masters men -- plus the top five masters women (ages 40-up) and veteran men (ages 50-up) -- will receive special awards. Top teams and their respective leading scorers also win series-end recognition.

Two races will be over by the time you read this. But, in addition to the opener at Newark, the other series' sites and meet dates include:

Sept. 23: Auburn High School Invitational, East Middle School campus, 9 a.m., 5K.

Oct. 8: Home Depot Invitational, Genesee Valley Park, Rochester,; men's 8K, 10 a.m.; women's 5K, 11 a.m. This is also designated the 2000 Niagara USATF Association. Championships, with $10,000 in prize money awarded to top individual and team scorers.

Oct. 21: Akron Falls Park, Akron, Niagara County, 5K, 10:30 a.m.

Nov. 5: Black Creek Park, North Chili, 8K, 11 a.m. This is Championship Day.

The entry fees for the entire series are $30 if received by Sept. 12; $35 for the complete series beginning Sept. 16 at race No. 1 at Newark. Runners who register for the full series not only save money, but receive a long-sleeved T-shirt.

You can also opt to pay per race, costing $8 per meet. Those completing all five series' races will receive a special Upstate New York Cross Country award.

Those who just can't get enough can participate in a series of low-key, cross country races held in conjunction with Rochester-area high school invitationals which are open to adult runners. The cost is $5 per meet.

"Cross country running really grabs you; it's a nice change from road running," said Hoebeke. "There's no comfortable rhythm, and it's all about effort not pacing. You have to run a cross country race to appreciate it. When the season begins, I eat, drink and sleep cross country. I love it!"

For more information, contact series director Pete Glavin, 160 Laney Rd., Rochester, N.Y. 14620-3046; or call (716) 242-9031; or by e-mail: gvh@frontiernet.net.

History, past results and additional information concerning the series are available on their Web site at http://www.gvh.net.