Wickham Park Cross Country Summer Series Kicks Off 21st Year

The annual Summer Grand Prix Cross County Race Series is about to kick off for its 21st year tonight at Wickham Park in Manchester.

Thousands of runners of all ages, abilities and backgrounds have raced since its inception in 1991. Most runners have been drawn to the attractive yet challenging 2.6-mile course at Wickham Park, site of the high school cross-country championship meets.

Participation is not limited to just the serious, high-mileage runner, race officials say. Runners of all fitness levels and experience are welcome.

The five-race series is sponsored by the Silk City Striders, the Manchester-based running club, the Journal Inquirer newspaper and Wickham Park, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Striders have assumed the organizational burden since 1993, after it was created by Matt Buckler, a sports reporter for the Journal Inquirer, and Trinity College cross country/track and field coach George Suitor, who held those positions then at Manchester High School.

At 6:30 tonight the first race of the season – a 2.6-miler for older teens and adults – kicks off at the park. The entry fee is $5 per race or $20 for the five-race series, which runs through mid-August.

Mike Bendzinski, the series director and long-time member of the Silk City Striders, acknowledges that the Grand Prix for some runners represents a refreshing break from most road races that are over pavement, held in the morning and are too often geared toward the competitive racer, with t-shirts, closed courses, police escorts, blaring music, fancy trophies and a picnic-like atmosphere.

The series, it could be said, is aligned with grass roots running. The charm of the series is that everyone can have his or her own reasons why it works for them. This is not cookie-cutter running.

Janit Romayko, 66, of East Hartford, a Silk City Strider, has been a part of every series.

“I run in it so I can compare my times each and every year,” Romayko said. “In this way I am able to gauge my capacities as an aging runner. It is a rather difficult race with several hills and valleys. Each year my times seem to slow a bit but I do try to give it a great deal of effort so as to outrace the aging process.”

Kathy Thornton, 52, of Manchester – a Strider since 1991 – finds appeal in the social aspects of returning each year, which she has done for close to 10 years. Thornton sees some series runners only during these cross-country races and she enjoys that. For her, Wickham Park is a place to touch base.

“It’s great to have the same course every year,” said Thornton, whose sons ran cross-country at Manchester High School. “I’m nowhere near the first half of the finishers. I like the camaraderie of the series. I see the same people each year. It’s one of the joys of a tradition. Sometimes I see them in other places; sometimes I don’t. Other people feel that way, too. I look forward to seeing my Wickham Park friends."

Participation grows marginally each year, said Thornton and Bendzinski, who was the Manchester High School cross-country coach from 1992-2008 and the track coach from 1993 until 2000. The series opened up 1991 with 38 runners at the inaugural run. Bendzinski, who became race director in 1993, says the typical series race will get 130 or so runners. Thornton says the number of regulars is 50-ish. 

“That number could be low-balling it,” she said.

In all, 112 people received awards last year, for finishing in the Top 2 of their age-group division or by qualifying for running in four of the five races. Aside for the three youth (one-mile race) divisions for boys and girls, there is male and female competition for seven different age groups: 14-15 year olds, 16-18, 19-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60-and-older.

“It’s very important to reward people who are out there trying,” Bendzinski said. He said the high-water marks for race fields each were in 2009 when an adults’ race drew 203 runners and the most for kids was 60 during another race that year.

“We have some pretty fast runners up front,” he said. “But we also have some not-so-serious runners. You can earn a prize by consistency, if you show up for four of the five nights. It’s a nice hang out for runners. It’s a cool night to have a race series.”

Although opening night is tonight, the other races in the series will be held on Monday, July 18, with the concluding races on Aug. 1, 8 and 15, all Mondays. Awards are presented, featuring recognition for those who compete in four of the five races, after the last race of the series. Racing throughout the series starts at 6 p.m. with a one-mile run for three divisions: 9-and-younger, 10-11 and 12-13, with a $4 entry fee ($15 for the series).