Heard Around the Track


From Walt Murphy's News and Results Service
OFFICIAL RELEASE


Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals Returns To San Diego

NEW YORK, July 11, 2002 - Foot Locker today announced that the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals race will be held at Morley Field in Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. on Dec. 14, 2002. This move marks the return to the site of the first National Finals race held in 1979.

The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals race was held in San Diego, Calif. for 16 of its past 23 years. From 1981-1982 and 1997-2001 the National Finals took place at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.

"The city of San Diego has always demonstrated enthusiastic support for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships," said Geoff Sills, vice president, marketing, Foot Locker U.S. "We have a history of exciting races and impressive records at Balboa Park and we're looking forward to the same success for our 24th annual National Finals."

"We're very pleased to host the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals in San Diego," said Tory Nixon, executive vice president/chief operating officer for the San Diego International Sports Council. "The Sports Council and the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered to return this premiere national championship to its roots. The community of San Diego is thrilled to once again be home to this outstanding event."

The host hotel for the National Finals participants is the Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, Calif. The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is comprised of four regional 5K races which take place across the country. The Midwest (Kenosha, Wis.), Northeast (Bronx, NY) and South (Charlotte, N.C.) regional races are Saturday, Nov. 30, 2002 and the West (Walnut, Calif.) regional race is Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002. More than 10,000 of the nation's leading high school runners compete in the regional meets. The top eight finishers in each of the boys and girls seeded races qualify for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals at Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. on Dec. 14, 2002.

The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is sponsored by Nike. With more than 2,000 stores worldwide, Foot Locker is the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel retailer and leading destination for running product. Foot Locker is part of Foot Locker, Inc. a specialty retailer that operates more than 3,600 stores in 14 countries in North America, Europe and Australia.

PENNSYLVANIA'S FOOT LOCKER PARTICIPANTS SINCE 1979,
PLUS A LINK TO FULL RESULTS.