BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The 2014 edition of the annual USATF National Club Cross Country Championships will take place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on the easy-to-remember date of 12-13-14 (Dec. 13, 2014--a Saturday). The competitions, which highlight club and age-group scoring, will be run over Lehigh University’s time-tested and historic cross country course.

The top men’s and women’s Open teams will compete for $25,000. The top men’s and women’s Age-Group teams will divide up $10,000. In addition, the individual male and female with the best age-graded score will receive $100 each. Men compete over a 10K distance, women over 6K.

Lehigh has been host to five NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, including an epic battle between Henry Rono and Alberto Salazar in 1979. (Rono won.) Lehigh also hosts the annual Paul Short Run, which attracts 5000+ high school, college, and open runners.

The Club Championships are a joint presentation of USATF and the Lehigh Valley Cross Country Council. “We’re confident that the great Lehigh course and the experience of our Paul Short officials will combine to make this the best Club Championships yet,” says Terry Delph of the LVCCC. “Bethlehem is within driving distance from much of the East Coast, and Lehigh Valley International Airport gives us a convenient airport. We also have ample free parking immediately adjacent to the course, which is very spectator-friendly.”

Through the years, dozens of American greats have raced on the gently-weaving Lehigh course. These include 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor, and Jen Rhines, Amy Rudolph, Sydney Maree, Jim Spivey, John Tuttle, Brian Diemer, Ed Eyestone, Alan Culpepper, Keith Brantly, and more.

Clubs and individual runners can register HERE

All runners must also be members of USATF.

Meet headquarters will be the Best Western Lehigh Valley site of packet pickup and the technical meeting on Friday, Dec.12, and post-race happy hour, awards, and party on Saturday, the 13th. Other local hotels can be found here at Discover Lehigh Valley

Last year’s Club Championships took place in Bend, Oregon, where the winners included the following:

MEN

Open Team: Champion’s League Athletic Performance

Masters Team: Atlanta TC

Open: Joseph Gray, 29, Seattle, Washington

Masters: Greg Mitchell, 40, McMinnville, Oregon

Age-Graded: Simon Gutierrez, 47, Boulder, Colorado

WOMEN

Open Team: Brooks Beasts TC

Masters Team: Atlanta TC

Open: Laura Thweatt, 24, Boulder, Colorado

Masters: Gwen Lapham, 43, Seattle, Washington

Age-Graded: Kathy Martin, 62, Northport, New York

The 2014 USATF National Club Cross-Country Championships is sponsored by Runner’s World magazine, the Lehigh Valley Road Runners, Discover Lehigh Valley, and the Mid-Atlantic USATF.  Additional Championships information USATF, LOC Website, TWITTER, FACEBOOK

For more information contact:

Terry Delph at: [email protected]

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About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country’s No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit http://www.usatf.org/

Runner’s World is the world’s largest running magazine. More at www.RunnersWorld.com

The Lehigh Valley Road Runners develop and promote distance running and racing in the greater Lehigh Valley PA area. More at www.LVRR.org

Discover Lehigh Valley promotes the Lehigh and Northampton counties of Pennsylvania, especially leisure and business travel opportunities. More at www.DiscoverLehighValley.com

USA Track & Field Mid-Atlantic coordinates USATF activities in the State of Pennsylvania east of and including Potter, Clinton, Centre, Huntingdon and Bedford counties and the State of Delaware. More at www.mausatf.org