History of the Meet
I started this race as kind of a crazy idea. I was a sophomore in college, with a web site. I had never even helped my high school coach to organize a race, but for some reason I got it in my head that I could do it. We secured Polk Community College in Winter Haven (finally) as the venue and invited some of the coaches who frequented the web site to join us. Our first year we went head to head against the established Disney Classic and managed to put together arguably the most elite meet of the year. We started out with 4 races (Varsity A and Varsity B divisions, no JV) and about 450 runners.
That first year we were a little bit unorganized, but no one cared! We just had a good time and loved the sport! Many can still remember me and my fraternity brothers leaning on the back of a car (meet headquarters) with a poster board and a calculator figuring out the team scores! Most also remember the classic battle between Mike Swope and Matt Cianciulli at that race and the sub-15 times for 3 miles.
From there the meet has grown leaps and bounds, but still has kept its grassroots feel. We've gone from 450 to 900 to 1600 to 2900 to 4250 to over 5000 runners over the last seven years! We have been joined by teams from Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, New York, and New Mexico. We bring together the most elite race of the season for Floridians and one of the largest cross country races in the nation.
Above all, we hope that people really get pumped up about the race... whether they are an elite athlete or new to the sport. We like to celebrate the sport through the race. And my personal mission statement for the meet is "more than just a race." I strive to make it something special and out of the ordinary that teams will look forward to every year and remember fondly once they graduate. Come join us this year!
Jason Byrne, flrunners.com