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PAST ACCOLADES FROM COACHES & SPECTATORS

  • Great Invitational, I don’t know how you do it. I do have too state I have never received results that quick in all my years of coaching. Tom Jansen, Horseheads

  • That was a well organized meet and presentation!  Rich, Ithaca

  • THANK YOU!!!  Once again the Marathon Invitational was the highlight of the XC season!!!  I have attended the last 6, both as a parent and now as a coach.  You run an amazing meet. 

  • Great job with the invite!  The best weather I think we have ever had.  Everything ran smooth and I appreciate all the hard work you put into it.  Thanks again.

  • Fantastic Meet!!!  It would be tough to match the quality of the Marathon Invitational.  It is a pleasure being a part of it.  Scott Weeks, Groton.

  • Thanks for a great day!  The races were super as was the course. 

  • I live very close to the Marathon Elementary school and watched this event for the very 1st time and I was in awe of the huge turn out, 48 Schools or so I was told, from CNS to Corning to Susquehanna etc. Very festive atmosphere, tents, Frisbee, football games etc... My kids and I really enjoyed the event. Quite something to see a start with hundreds of kid’s alls running down hill for position. As to the visibility I have always loved the elementary school for athletic events, the view is stellar and I believe fits the event well. As for parking, I knew the area, go to the top by the bus garage, your likely hood of better parking is good that way and less distance to the start line.

  • Hey, speaking as someone who's run a big meet (albeit on a track), you and your troops did a heck of a job w/ that meet.  It's a great meet!  Dare I say the most competitive in Section 4 all season?

  • To watch a race you can stand in one spot and see the kids four times and it’s still a short walk to the finish line.

  • Thanks for a great meet Saturday. As usual, it went flawlessly, except for that one less point my girls needed. Actually, we are very happy to have tied with C-NS!  Mike Cordi, Maine Endwell

  • Thank you so very much for your generosity and hospitality. Your knowledge, love of XC, devotion to the league and gracious patience are all so appreciated.  What outstanding work you do. You are a gem. Marie, Watkins Glen, XC

  • You set the standard for running an Invite.  Very nicely done today.  Thanks for the wonderful experience. Brian Trippany, Newark Valley, XC Coach

  • Great Meet.  You always take on the big tasks and are not afraid to try new things for the first time in those big meets.  I can respect that.  Scott Weeks, Groton XC Coach

  • Your organization was outstanding!  The 3 awards idea was brilliant! Rich Bernstein, Ithaca XC Coach

  • It was a great day for racing, and the meet was superbly organized, as always. Brian, Seton Catholic XC Coach


PAST ACCOLADES FROM COACHES & SPECTATORS

  • Thank you kindly for the wonderful meet-we had a ball, learned a lot, and enjoyed the scene. I am always stunned by your vision and implementation of such an event. Your parents and kids were so great-I was impressed with their kindness and know-how. Your kids were doing such a great job keeping the folks from crossing barriers -so sorry coaches and teams did not abide. Thank you for your astonishing commitment to XC. Marie Fitzsimmons, Watkins Glen XC

  • Your volunteers put on an AWESOME invitational.  I couldn’t get over how much you guys did for the athletes at every level.  You deserve to be commended.  Sometimes recognition is lost if you’re not on the winning team or not on varsity.  I felt as though I was at the State meet for XC and they were giving awards for the different classes.  Again GREAT JOB and please let those involved know they are appreciated by us “Northern folks from Syracuse”.  Greg Broton, Assistant Coach-CNS Cross Country

  • Great invite.  Thanks.  Ran like clock work.  Congrats.  Kids love the course and the meet.  Mark Dixson, Candor Cross Country

  • Congratulations on yet another feat of organization, competition, sportsmanship, and celebration. You sure know how to throw a running festival!! Thank you for the enormous role you play in the world of running and the standards of excellence you set.  With gratitude, Marie Fitzsimmons, Watkins Glen

  • Thanks for a great meet this weekend.  Your invite is one of my favorite sporting events to go to in any sport!, Rob Munro, Bainbridge Gilford, Harpursville XC Coach

  • Great job w/ the meet, as ever.  I think the outside awards w/ 3 helpings were a stroke of genius, as was the new idea you came up w/ for the bib numbers and the number pad.  Congrats on a successful event, again.

PAST ACCOLADES FROM COACHES & SPECTATORS

  • I always love the last-season challenge provided by the hills of Marathon, and I always tell my athletes that Marathon is a prime example of a well-run meet. That was true again today.  Jim Vermeulen, West Genesee, October 2019
    We had a great day today and will certainly plan on coming back next year.  From the moment we stepped of the bus,  with 2 volunteers handing us our packet and directing our bus to the correct location - it was one of the best invites that we have been to!  I was so impressed with how organized the race was and the kids loved the course!  Please keep a spot open for us again next year.  We would love to come back! Bob Stewart, Coach, Honeoye Varsity Boys and Girls Cross Country, October 2013

  • Hey, another fine job yesterday.  It was a great day, the course was marked impeccably, and things ran like clockwork, despite whatever wait there was to get the results set for the mod large boys' race.  That's why you created 16 fail safe mechanisms anyway. Thanks for a wonderful experience.  My modified teams loved your meet.  You do a fantastic job with it. Marie Grasso, Coach Skaneateles, Modified Boys Cross Country, October 2013

  • Thanks again for a top class invite! It ran like a well oiled machine and is certainly one of my kids favorite invites to run. We appreciate all the time and effort you and your staff put into it and look forward to it year after year. Grace, Susquehanna Valley XC Coach, October 2013

  • Sorry to hear that people abused the privileges of using the school...very disconcerting to say the least. I wanted to say thank you for hosting a great event and am amazed at how smooth things went despite some of the worst conditions I've seen since I've been a coach. As an outsider looking in everything seemed to run like clockwork and you and your whole crew did an amazing job! Again, thank you very much.  Grace, Susquehanna Valley XC

  •  Great job today!  I truly appreciate all that you and your staff do to pull off a successful large Invitational. Tom Jansen, Horseheads Cross Country

  • What a GREAT EVENT!  I know you are proud of it and we love coming there.  Every aspect of the meet was awesome.  I know how hard it is to put on an invite, but to do it the way you and your staff do is phenomenal.  Thanks again...See you at Sectionals.  Lou, Corning Cross Country.

  • The Marathon course looked great and having the awards outside was a nice touch so that the coaches and athletes could be there but especially the parents.  Mary Hogan, Deposit XC Coach

  • Please express my thanks to your emergency squad personnel for their assistance with one of our var. girls who had some breathing difficulties at the invitational.   They couldn't have been nicer or more professional.  Thanks and great job at the invite, as usual.  Pete Tylenda Johnson City XC Coach

  •  As always, your meet this weekend was fantastic.  It was very organized and enjoyable.  We loved how you did the awards this year! Thanks!  Patrick Paterson, Newark Valley, XC Coach.

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​Marathon Cross Country Invitational