Over 2,500 runners from all 50 states and three countries have entered to run the Salina Crosssroads Marathon.
Race organizers say as of this week there over 2, 500 runners from all fifty states, Canada, and Mexico registered for the November 4th event.
“We are excited for Salina to have one of the largest marathons in the state of Kansas,” said Co-Race Director Daniel Craig. “Last year we focused on having a well-organized event starting with excellent pre-race communication, a fun vendor fair, well-marked course with lots of volunteers, and an amazing post-race celebration with lots of photo opportunities. Cash Hollistah and Hannah Holt did an amazing job with race announcements, fun music, and calling out the runner’s names as they finished which helped to create an amazing experience that has been instrumental in the growth that we are seeing for this year’s race. This year we have over 1225 runners from outside of the state of Kansas, which is a big increase from the 134 we had last year. Visit Salina, a program of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, calculated the impact of the 2023 Salina Crossroads Marathon at $1,685,600 of estimated economic impact. We look forward to continuing to grow the Salina Crossroads Marathon into one of the premier marathons in the Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Missouri region.”
The 2023 Salina Crossroads Marathon weekend will feature seven events: marathon, half marathon, 5K run, 5K walk, half marathon relay, marathon relay, and new half-mile kids run.
“One of our goals with the Salina Crossroads Marathon is to create a high quality event with fun race options for the entire family,” said Craig. “We hope that the 5K run, 5K walk, team relays, new half mile kids run, and opportunities to volunteer and cheer on the runners will enable the entire community to come out and be a part of an amazing marathon weekend. We appreciate the support from the City of Salina in helping us create a flat, fast, and scenic course. They have also provided a lot of assistance in working through the special event permit process that allows us to provide some of the elements such as music along the course and an amazing post-race celebration that helps set us apart from other marathons in Kansas.”
Organizers anticipates needing over 200 volunteers for the 2023 Salina Crossroads Marathon. A link to register as a volunteer will be sent out in late summer, but anyone interested in volunteering can also email race organizers at [email protected]. Organizations interested in having a vendor booth and/or being a sponsor can contact the Salina Crossroads Marathon at the same email address. Sponsorships and vendor fees allow for 100% of the race entry fees to be given to four local youth sports organizations.
It is the amazing support from the community that allows the Salina Crossroads Marathon to be one of the few marathons to provide 100% of the entry fees to a cause. The four organizations that the entry fees will be going to in 2023 are:
- Salina Family YMCA
- Kansas Youth Sports
- USD 305 School Marathon Foundation
- Salina Area Youth Sportsmanship Initiative
About the Salina Crossroads Marathon
The Salina Crossroads Marathon began when two local runners (Chris Lehecka and Daniel Craig) started visiting about what it would look like for Salina to have a high-quality marathon and half marathon race. The City of Salina helped develop a fun and scenic course that also minimized disruptions to traffic and parking in Downtown Salina. The Salina Crossroads Marathon planning committee includes individuals in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors as well as local runners. The goals of the Salina Crossroads Marathon are to have a high-quality race that can bring in runners from across the United States, provide 100% of the race entry fees to local organizations, and provide fun family friendly events so the entire community can come be a part of a USATF Certified and Boston Qualifying Marathon weekend.
