Race Day Details
THIS WAS EMAILED TO EVERY RACE PARTICIPANT AND INCLUDED IN THEIR CONFIRMATION EMAIL:
We're excited to watch many of you open your cross country seasons this Friday at McNair Park. As you may have seen, St. Louis County has approved competition to begin this Friday, however with the timing being so close, we will be moving forward with the meet as originally planned.
We wanted to give you some instructions for the races this Friday.
We have a limited number of t-shirts available for purchase on our online store. These are for pre-sale only. Please consider purchasing a meet shirt as it helps fund the meet for future years.
We will be giving medals to the top 10 finishers in each race. Those medals can be picked up at the finish line tents after the completion of each race.
Remember, since this is an open race, you are not allowed to wear any school issued uniform or clothing.
Parking is available in McNair Park. Please follow all posted signs.
Friday's schedule is as follows:
4:00 PM - Boys Open C
4:25 PM - Boys Open B
4:50 PM - Boys Open A
5:15 PM - Girls Open C
5:45 PM - Girls Open B
6:15 PM - Girls Open A
Our number one goal of Friday's meet is to ensure the safety of all participants, spectators, volunteers and officials.
In order to do that we ask that you please follow the instructions provided below.
We would like to keep numbers as low as possible in the park at all times, so we ask that you arrive no earlier than 60 minutes before YOUR race. We also ask that you practice social distancing (6ft. minimum) and wear a mask at all times while in the park unless warming up or told by our starter it is time to take off your mask.
You are limited to one spectator; likely a parent or guardian. They are required to wear a mask at all times.
We will have portapotties as well as brick and mortar bathrooms on site.
When you arrive, before you can pick-up your bib, you will need to pass our health screening station (found near the finish line) where you will have your temperature taken by a touchless infrared thermometer and asked the following questions:
Have you experienced any of the following symptoms within the past 24 hours:
- Fever (temperature greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
- Sore throat
- Loss of smell and/or taste
- Diarrhea or vomiting
You will also be asked if you have had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID in the past 2 weeks or if someone in your household is currently awaiting test results for a COVID test.
Any individual with a temperature at or above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or answers YES to any of the above questions will NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE AND WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE PARK IMMEDIATELY.
PLEASE DO YOUR PART AND ACT RESPONSIBLY...PLEASE DO NOT COME TO THE MEET IF YOU OR ANY FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE ANY COVID SYMPTOMS, HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO SOMEONE WITH COVID OR YOU OR SOMEONE IN YOUR FAMILY IS AWAITING TEST RESULTS FROM A COVID TEST.
Once you have passed the health screening station you will receive a wristband. That wristband will allow you to pick up your race bib at the finish line registration tent.
Please listen for announcements over the loud speaker as they will call your race to the line 10 minutes and 5 minutes before your race is scheduled to begin. *You must compete in the race you are signed up for, your timing chip will not activate in any other race.
Please keep your mask on until instructed to remove it by our starter, which will take place three minutes before the start of your race. During your race, plan on carrying your mask or pinning it to your uniform as you will need it to exit the finish corral at the end of the race.
For safety reasons, we will not have water at the finish line. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN WATER. We will have emergency water and trainers from Mercy Sports Medicine on hand to provide care if needed.
PLEASE PLAN ON CROSSING THE FINISH LINE AND EXITING THE FINISH CORRAL UNDER YOUR OWN POWER. Our trainers do not want to have to scoop you off the ground. Be sure to hydrate appropriately all week including race day.
In a normal year we would encourage you to stick around and cheer for your fellow cross country runners, however 2020 is not normal and we respectfully ask that you leave upon the completion of your race.
We know this is a lot of digest, but again your and everyone's safety is our highest priority.
We look forward to seeing you Friday!
- The Gateway Cross Country Challenge Team
