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The Salina Crossroads Marathon has 3,240 runners registered from all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom and is quickly closing on last year’s registration total of 3402. The third annual Salina Crossroads Marathon will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2024 in downtown Salina and the planning committee has set a goal of 4000 registered runners for the 2024 race.
The Salina Crossroads Marathon was featured recently in Kansas! Magazine with a great article by Patricia E. Ackerman and photography by Tanner Colvin in volume 80-issue 3 for 2024. “The support we have received from local and state-wide media partners as well as running clubs across the United States has been amazing and is a key reason that the Salina Crossroads Marathon has become one of the largest marathon events in Kansas in just its third year,” said Co-Race Director Daniel Craig.
This year Salina Crossroads added the option to register as part of a team and that change has paid off with over 26 teams registered. The Salina Crossroads Marathon reaches out to over 600 running clubs in all 50 states, and this year, Team Take Down, an African American running club with members in all fifty states as well as other countries, will gather for their annual MeetUp event at the marathon in Salina. Team Take Down currently has 185 runners registered and there are additional large teams coming from Kansas City Missouri, Tulsa Oklahoma, and Florida.
The Salina Crossroads Marathon strives to be the Most Runner Friendly Marathon in Kansas. The goals of the Salina Crossroads Marathon are to have a high-quality race that can bring in runners from across the United States, create a significant economic impact for the community, provide 100% of the race entry fees to local organizations, offer volunteer opportunities, and provide fun family friendly events so the entire community can come be a part of a USATF Certified and Boston Qualifying Marathon weekend.“Our team has always been open to and encouraged ideas to make the race unique. We are thankful for strong support from the City of Salina and local businesses to help the ideas come to life. From a vintage vehicle leading the pack at the starting line, to live music along the course, to slices of ice cream pie when you cross the finish line, our goal is to create a race experience for runners and spectators that people will talk about and remember” said Co-Race Director Chris Lehecka.
Funding from local organizations including Vortex Company, the Marathon Presenting Sponsor, and Schwan’s Company, the Half Marathon Presenting Sponsor, as well as local foundations and statewide organizations allows the Salina Crossroads Marathon to put on one of the premier marathon events in the Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa region. Things that separate the Salina Crossroads Marathon from other events includes having music along the course, a well-marked course, free downloadable photos to help runners remember their amazing experience in Salina, and fun custom designed medals featuring the Salina Crossroads Marathon logo developed by Eric Montoy at Vortex Companies. This year race organizers are making lots of great changes including having a 100% paved course, adding additional fun signs for post-race photos, and having a PR bell that runners who run their fastest time can ring. One thing that will not change is the commitment to being a "Gold Standard" race by providing 100% of the race entry fees back to Saline County Youth Sports. Salina Crossroads Marathon provides 100% of the race entry fees to five local youth sports organizations: Salina Burn Track and Field Club, Salina Family YMCA, Kansas Youth Sports, Salina Area Youth Sportsmanship Initiative, and the School Marathon Foundation. Runners can register at https://register.chronotrack.com/r/77705.Salina Crossroads Marathon has one of the lowest registration fees for any race in Kansas and this year began offering the option of not getting a race shirt and receiving an additional $20.00 discount off the entry fee.
The 2024 Salina Crossroads Marathon weekend will feature seven family friendly events. In 2023, 11.71% of runners at the Salina Crossroads Marathon achieved a Boston Marathon qualifying time, which was the highest of any marathon in Kansas. “We appreciate the support from the City of Salina in helping us create a flat, fast, and scenic course and want to say a special thank you to Brent Buchwald and Sgt. Chad McCary for their support,” said Co-Race Director Daniel Craig. Although the marathon is the signature event Salina Crossroads was a finalist for the RaceRaves 2023 best half marathon in Kansas award. “We have an amazing team of over 25 planning committee members who enable us to put on high quality event with fun events for the entire family. A race experience starts long before the race with having great pre-race communication, an easy and convenient packet pickup, plenty of close parking, and a well-marked course with many amazing volunteers. Our planning team does an amazing job of ensuring that all aspects of the race experience are done at the highest level,” Craig said.
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•Marathon
•Half Marathon
•5K Run
•5K Walk
•Half Marathon Relay
•Marathon Relay
•Half-Mile Kids Run.
About the Salina Crossroads Marathon
The Salina Crossroads Marathon began when two local runners (Chris Lehecka and Daniel Craig) started visiting about what it would look like for Salina to have a high-quality marathon and half marathon race. The City of Salina helped develop a fun and scenic course that minimized disruptions to traffic and parking in Downtown Salina. The Salina Crossroads Marathon planning committee includes individuals in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors as well as local runners. Andrew Manley serves as a co-race director and treasurer for the Salina Crossroads Marathon. The goals of the Salina Crossroads Marathon are to have a high-quality race that can bring in runners from across the United States, provide 100% of the race entry fees to local organizations, and provide fun family friendly events so the entire community can come be a part of a USATF Certified and Boston Qualifying Marathon weekend.
For more information about the Salina Crossroads Marathon check out the website at runsalinacrossroads.com or follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1469896640070189.