For Immediate Release
Contact: William Wyckoff, 541-485-9883
Race site/info | Online Registration

Saturday Pre’s Trail X-Country Challenge Event to Raise Funds for Prefontaine Memorial Trail Maintenance

The annual Pre’s Trail X-Country Challenge takes place on Saturday, October 16, 2010 on the Prefontaine Memorial Trail in Alton Baker Park. Affectionately known as Pre’s Trail, this four mile ribbon of bark was created to honor the late Steve Prefontaine and provides a training and competition path for area high school and UO Track & Field runners, OTC Elite athletes, running clubs and community members at large.

“Heavy use and high esteem for Pre’s Trail make it a very special community asset, and also mean that regular trail maintenance is critical. We hope to generate much-needed funds to help in our ongoing Trail work,” said Kari Westlund, current president of the Oregon Track Club.

The Pre’s Trail X-country Challenge will feature several categories of races, complete with hay bale obstacles and great scenery.

Race Schedule
2:00pm - High School Boys 5K
2:30pm - High School Girls 5K
3:00pm – Free short dash for young runners
3:15pm - 3K Youth Race (Ages 17 & under)
3:45pm - 8K Open Race (All ages)
4:35pm - 5K Masters & Seniors Race (40 & Over)
5:15pm - Awards

Entry Fees (For all events)
$20 - All races, ages 18-59,  prior to race day.   $15 - All races, ages 60 & Over.    $10 - All races, ages 17 & under, prior to race day.  Oregon Track Club members receive a $5 discount.  Add $5 to all prices on race day.  Cotton event shirts can be purchased for an additional $10, tech shirts for an additional $15 - shirts will be available for sale on race day. A free dash is being held for younger kids at 3:00 p.m. All proceeds will support Pre’s Trail maintenance.

Registration
Register in person through Friday, October 15, at 12 noon at Eugene Running Company.  On race day, starting at 12:30pm and closing 15 minutes prior to a particular race.  By mail through October 11.  Click here for an ENTRY FORM.   Click here for ONLINE REGISTRATION. 

Awards
Awards will be presented in each race to the top three overall male and female finishers and the top three in each age group.  All participants will be eligible for random prize drawings. 

Age Groups
Youth 3K: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
Open 8K: 14 & Under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80 & Over
Masters 5K: 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80 & Over

Team Competition
In each race, individuals may also compete on a team for team awards.  Team divisions are: Male, Female and Coed.  Team Categories are:  Running Clubs, Government, Open, Masters (40 & Over), Seniors (60 & Over), Elementary School, Middle School, High School and Corporate.  In the Youth 3K and Recreational 3K events, the top 3 finishers on a team will count towards the team score.   In the Masters/Seniors 5K, the top 4 finishers on a team will count towards the team score.  In the Open 8K, the top 5 finishers on a team will count towards the team score.  Masters teams can be composed of runners 40 years of age and older, while Seniors teams must have all runners age 60 or older.  Coed teams must have at least one female finisher count towards the team score.

The Pre’s Trail X-Country Challenge is an Oregon Track Club event, and all proceeds go toward Pre’s Trail maintenance. Eclectic Edge Racing is providing management support.

The Oregon Track Club provides stewardship and advocacy for Pre’s Trail, organizing volunteer work parties and raising money to assist the City of Eugene with maintenance and improvements.

This year’s event will follow the UO Bill Dellinger Invitational, a competitive collegiate cross country meet, which gets underway at 11:45 a.m. in Alton Baker Park. Both events are spectator friendly.

# # #

In its five decades of service to the University of Oregon and the community, OTC has helped manage and staff AAU, NCAA, TAC, USATF, AIAW, Junior Olympic and WAVA (World Veteran) Championships, as well as four Olympic Trials (and a fifth to be conducted in 2012). The club was a major force in laying the original all-weather track at Hayward Field, building the West Grandstand and reconfiguring the track and moving back the East Grandstand.

OTC provides support for the UO track program and organizes officials for UO and other meets at Hayward Field. The club annually sponsors the prestigious Prefontaine Classic, part of the IAAF’s Grand Prix circuit, as well as the community-oriented July 4 Butte to Butte 10K, Eugene’s oldest road race.

An active OTC Masters program provides an outlet for both serious and recreational athletes and the OTC All-Comers’ meets fill Hayward Field each summer for five consecutive weeks, drawing up to 500 kids (12 & younger) on Wednesday evenings and up to 250 athletes (13 & older) on Thursdays.

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Rob Vermillion
Executive Director :: Oregon Track Club
[email protected]
541.343.7247 (work)
541.556.3245 (cell)
541.343.6485 (fax)