Over 775 runners from 30 states, including a multiple time Olympic Trials Qualifier, have signed up to run the Salina Crossroads Marathon, Half Marathon, Team Relays and 4.01K Family Fun Run Saturday in Downtown Salina. Race organizers anticipate those number will increase steadily up to and including on race day.

“We are excited to announce that multiple time Olympic Trials Qualifier and Kansas 5K and half marathon road race state record holder Joe Moore is running the half marathon. He has had a tremendous professional running career and it will be a great opportunity for the community to get to watch a runner of his caliber. We are excited to see how fast he runs on the flat and fast Salina Crossroads course said Co-Race Director Daniel Craig. “We also have some high school runners in Saline County who have just finished up successful cross-country seasons and are signed up to run in different events on November 5th. We want to congratulate all of our local cross-country runners on an amazing season and we are looking forward to having some of them run Salina Crossroads” Craig said. “We have heard a lot of runners are using Salina Crossroads as their first race which we are very excited about. And we have one runner who has completed over 400 marathons. So regardless of whether someone is new to running or is an experienced runner we hope that Salina Crossroads will be a fun event that everyone can enjoy.”

Organizers say the Salina Crossroads Marathon began when two local runners (Daniel Craig and Chris Lehecka) started visiting about what it would look like for Salina to have a high-quality marathon and half marathon race. They reached out to the City of Salina to approach them with the idea, and they were very supportive. Sgt. Chad McCary and Brent Buchwald helped develop a fun and scenic course that also minimizes disruptions to traffic and parking in Downtown Salina and JoVonna Rutherford helped work through the process of getting approval on the Special Event Permit. Once approval from the City of Salina was obtained, they put together a race committee consisting of individuals in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors as well as local runners. The goals were to develop a high-quality race that could 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 could come be a part of Salina’s first ever USATF Certified and Boston Qualifying Marathon weekend. DJ Cash Hollistah is coordinating entertainment for the Salina Crossroads Marathon.

What has to happen for it to be a Boston Marathon qualifying race?

The race director works with their local police department and City Manager’s office to develop and get approval for the course. Certification is a procedure that guarantees that the marathon course has been properly measured by an experienced measurer. The surveyor uses a bicycle equipped with a revolution counter and does two measurements of the course to ensure that the marathon is at least the full marathon distance (26 miles 385 yards) commonly listed as 26.2 miles. Once the surveyor creates the course map it gets sent to the Regional Certifier who issues the official certificate. The course is valid for 10 years, as long as nothing changes on the course that would affect the distance. USA Track & Field offers a searchable link online which lists all marathons in the United States that are USATF certified. There are similar lists of certified marathons in other countries. The course must be run exactly as is depicted on the map that the surveyor creates which includes things such as the exact location for cones on the course. If the organizers of the race make any changes, no matter how minor, the course is not certified. So, it is a very detailed process that lets runners know that the race is the correct distance.

Here are some fun facts about the Salina Crossroads Marathon weekend.

1. The Salina Crossroads Marathon weekend will kick off at 7:55a.m. with an electric guitar version of the National Anthem. The marathon, half marathon, and team relays will start at 8:00a.m. and the 4.01K Family Fun Run will start at 8:10a.m.
2. The largest event is the half marathon with 316 runners registered.
3. 776 runners have signed up to run as of Thursday morning. There are 445 runners from outside of Salina including 135 from outside the state of Kansas.
4. Missouri has 31 runners registered and is the state with the highest number of registrations.
5. There are over 40 organizations providing sponsorships and support which are allowing all race entry fees to be provided to the Salina Family YMCA, Kansas Youth Sports, USD 305 School Marathon, and Salina Area Youth Sportsmanship Initiative.
6. There will be great food including burgers by Cozy Inn after the race. Vegetarian post-race meal options will also be available.
7. The Salina Crossroads Marathon is expected to create an economic impact of approximately $380,000.

There are five events to participate in on November 5^th. In addition to the full marathon there is also a half marathon, half marathon relay, marathon relay, and 4.01K (2.5 mile) Family Fun Run/Walk. To learn more about the races or to register visit runsalinacrossroads.com. Runners and walkers can register up to and including the morning of the race although early registration is encouraged. All finishers get a custom designed medal by Vortex.

When we developed the course, we worked hard to incorporate activation areas where we will have aid stations (water, Gatorade, snacks), music, and places for people to cheer on the runners. We have a map of the course showing the places along the course where it will be easiest for people to be at to cheer on the runners on the salinacrossroads.com website.