New Balance as the title sponsor of the 2017 Run Alberta Cross Country series. “We’re super happy to have New Balance on board as our title sponsor” said series coordinator Matt Norminton. “As a company, they’ve been authentic to the sport of running for a very long time and we hope that they’ll be involved for years to come”. The Running Room will continue to act as presenting sponsor of the series.
The Run Alberta XC series enters it’s 9th year as Alberta’s premier cross country series aimed at post collegiate and collegiate level runners. “Our goal when we created the series was to try and get most of our top seniors competing at the same few races in the fall and elevate the level of racing in the province and keep a few more people in the sport” said Norminton. Over the years, several of the participants have gone on to make national cross country teams including 2015 World Track and Field Championships team member Fiona Benson (800m) from Dawson Creek and 2016 Olympian Jessica O’Connell (5000m) from Calgary. “After finishing my NCAA cross country career, I returned home to Calgary and continued to train while working on graduate studies” says O’Connell. “Races can be hard to find as a post-collegiate athlete, and the Run Alberta cross country series has filled the void and provides phenomenal opportunity for Alberta runners”.
All sponsorship money goes directly to the top finishers in the series (using their best 4 results) and since it’s inception in 2008, the series has given over $40,000 directly to Alberta athletes. Maria Bernard, another 2016 Rio Olympian from Calgary, claimed victory in race #2 of the 2016 series last weekend in her home town. Race number 3 of the 2016 series goes this weekend in Vermilion. For more information visit Running Solutions (runningsolutions.shawwebspace.ca) or Athletics Alberta.