Please fill out the registration form and participant waiver, and submit a payment of $80/$20 (check made payable to Eileen Joy or Venmo @Eileen-Joy-3). Turn in your registration forms to Nora Joy at practice or contact Eileen directly at [email protected]. Registration forms are due by Friday, October 8th.
What is NXR? When the regular high school cross country season ends, Nike holds 8 regional cross country events around the U.S. (NXR). Downers Grove South is located in the group of states that attend the Midwest NXR regional and we will be participating again this year. All DGS cross country runners are invited to attend. There are three races, an open race, a freshman/sophomore race, and a championship race, so everyone who signs up will run in one of the three races. The race distance is 5k. We have to enter as a club, not a High School team, so we will be entered as the Downers South Distance Club!
Why? This meet gives the girls a chance to compete on an NCAA National Championship 5k Course against girls from IN, OH, IL, MI, and MO. Our top runners will again be vying for one of the coveted invitations to the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon. Nike sponsors the event and makes it really special. There is a pre-race ice cream social, a chance to meet world-class Nike athletes and make new friends from other teams.
Where is it? LaVern Gibson Championship XC Course in Terre Haute, IN. Terre Haute is known as Cross Country Town USA. This LaVern Gibson course hosted the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship and is widely recognized as one of the top cross-country courses in the world. They have hosted 15 national championships at this course. The course is spectator friendly so it is easy to see your daughter at multiple places on the course.
When? The team will drive down on Saturday, Nov 13th so the girls have a chance to preview the course in Terre Haute. All other runners, traveling separately from the team, should plan to arrive for races starting mid-day Sunday, Nov 14th. The team will stay at a local hotel overnight on Saturday night and the athletes will room together. We also have a limited block of rooms reserved for parents, see below. We will return on Sunday after the races and the awards are concluded in the late afternoon (approx. 4:45 pm ET departure).
Transportation? Provided by team parents. The team will leave at approximately 10 am on Saturday, November 13. The girls will drive straight to the XC course in Terre Haute, set up tents, and run the course before heading to the hotel (as in past years). We need parent volunteers to help drive the girls on Saturday, please see the registration form to volunteer.
Cost? $80 covers a shared hotel room (with continental breakfast), transportation, race entry fee, and Saturday dinner for the girls. Sorry, no refunds.
***Please note that the girls should bring spending money for t-shirts, any snacks and the various Nike merchandise sold at the course.
Saturday Dinner… Everyone is welcome to join the team on Saturday for dinner. We have planned a pasta dinner at a restaurant very close to the hotel. Details will be shared closer to the date. Please bring cash and indicate on the below form how many people plan to attend. Only additional runners, not traveling with the team, and family members should be counted on the form.
What if my daughter wishes to attend but can not drive down Sat. and/or will not stay in the hotel with the girls…? Please arrange for your daughter’s transportation and accommodations. In addition, please complete all forms and submit a payment of $20 so that your daughter can be registered for the race along with the team. Sorry, no refunds. If your daughter is not planning to travel with the team and plans to arrive separately, please complete the attached forms in “Next Steps” and email Eileen Joy and Julie Johnson (email below) to share your plans.
Next Steps…
Please fill out the registration form and participant waiver, and submit a payment of $80/$20 (check made payable to Eileen Joy or Venmo @Eileen-Joy-3). Turn in your registration forms to Nora Joy at practice or contact Eileen directly at [email protected]. Registration forms are due by Friday, October 8th.
Please note: If you would like to attend the race, we have a limited number of hotel rooms available at the same hotel where the runners will be staying. Reservations can be placed by following this link:
Please don’t wait to reserve your room. Once you have made your reservation, please email Jennifer Kowalski ([email protected]) so she can keep track of the number of available rooms. If you don’t plan to stay overnight, you can still drive down on the day of the race to see your daughter. It’s approximately a 3 ½ hour drive to get to the course, plus an hour time change.
About 1 week before the race we will send out an itinerary for the weekend, additional information, driving directions to drivers, etc.
Questions? Check out the event details at https://nxrmw.runnerspace.com/ or ask Eileen Joy [email protected] or Julie Johnson at [email protected] if you have any questions.
We hope to see you there!!!
