The Edmonton Harriers Cross-Country Series 2023

Sponsored by Running Room

Please review the following information carefully.

To download a pdf of the below information, please go to http://www.ellistiming.ca/HarriersCrossCountry/




Date: September 20, 2023

Time: 4:30-6:00 PM (races begin at 4:45 PM)

Location: Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park (13221 Buena Vista Rd NW)


Date: September 27, 2023

Time: 4:30-6:00 PM (races begin at 4:45 PM)

Location: Mill Woods Sports Park (2730 66 St NW)


Date: October 4, 2023

Time: 4:30-6:00 PM (races begin at 4:45 PM)

Location: Callingwood Park (17740 69 Ave NW)

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  • Please note that registration is done through Ellis Timing. Any registration-related questions should be directed to Ellis Timing.

    Edmonton Harriers Cross Country Series Registration Form: TBD


    Students are registered by their schools. If your school is not participating or your child is home-schooled and you wish your child to participate, please follow the same instructions as for the schools.
    Please arrange to send a list of all possible participants (using the above-noted registration form) to vernon@ellistiming.ca , being sure to include your contact information at the top. (Please do NOT send "Google Docs" links.) You only need to submit an athlete’s name once for the whole series. (Please do not re-send an athlete's name for the second or third date if the name was sent for the first.) If possible, include all athletes who will participate in the series whether or not they intend on participating in all the races. Using the spreadsheet allows us to directly import your students into our database and thus save hours of data entry and the typos that occur with such a task. Entry receipt will be acknowledged by return email within 24 hours. If you have not received a response within 48 hours, please request a confirmation of receipt.
    We will supply the labels for the athletes to stick to their shirt. Labels will be available for pick-up at the registration table. Please do not bring your own labels.
    There will be no on-site registration. All schools will be billed after the last race based on the number of athletes from their school that cross the finish line. An electronic invoice will be sent to the Coach or Billing Person approximately 2 weeks after the last race.
    Entry Deadline: Monday noon before each Wednesday race. (The Friday before is better, to allow you more time to confirm information.)
    The entry fee this year will be $7.00 per child per race. This entry fee covers the cost of insurance, park permits, plaques, ribbons, medals, etc.

  • The Harriers Cross-Country Series is for elementary students Grades 3 to 6. Students compete against others in their own grade and of their own gender, thus each meet consists of eight races. Students younger than grade 3 may participate in the Grade 3 races.

    Race distances may vary from meet to meet, from about 1300 m to 1750 m.

    The first race starts at 4:45 PM. Subsequent races will start every 10-15 minutes. The race order will be:
    Grade 6 Girls
    Grade 6 Boys
    Grade 5 Girls
    Grade 5 Boys
    Grade 4 Girls
    Grade 4 Boys
    Grade 3 and Under Girls
    Grade 3 and Under Boys

  • Each school is encouraged to bring a bus, as special parking will be provided for buses. There will be limited parking available for cars. Parents are encouraged to car pool.

    Wednesday September 20th at Sir Wilfred Laurier Park
    13211 Buena Vista Rd. NW – This park is located in the River Valley, near the Edmonton Valley Zoo. There is some parking onsite, and additional parking located at the main entrance (shared by the Zoo).

    Wednesday September 27th at Mill Woods Park

    2730 66 St. NW – This park is bordered by 23 Avenue, 28 Avenue, 66 Street, and Mill Woods Road.The races begin near the tennis courts behind Holy Trinity School. There are a number of parking lots in and around Mill Woods Park. Please obey all “No Parking” signs – violators will be ticketed.

    Wednesday October 4th at Callingwood Park
    17740 69 Ave. NW This park is bordered by 69 Avenue, 76 Avenue, 178 Street, and 172 Street. There are a number of parking lots in and around Callingwood Park. Please obey all “No Parking” signs – violators will be ticketed. The YMCA has programming on, and leaving parking for their customers is necessary for us to remain good neighbours.Portable Toilets will be provided at this venue – please refrain from using the YMCA washrooms

    PLEASE NOTE: Parking on the grass at any venue is not permitted. City Bylaw staff will be enforcing and issuing tickets. Damage to turf will be charged to the event organizers -- our volunteers will be vigilant in this respect.

  • All runners will be provided with their placement for their run. Results (times, places, and points earned) will be posted on the Harriers website as soon as possible following the meet. We aim to have the results posted within 48 hours of the meets. Results will be in Meet Manager format so that schools can search through the results for their individual school's placing.


    The Harriers volunteers at the finish line will remove each athlete's label. Please stress to your athletes that they should not remove or crumple up their name tags until they are at the finish line and asked to remove them by the Harrier volunteers. Labels that are missing, crumpled, or illegible cause considerable delay at the finish line and may result in inaccurate finishing results.

  • Place ribbons will be given to the top ten finishers in each race. All finishers will receive a participation ribbon.

    The meets are organized in a series, with runners earning points for each race. First in each race earns 1 point, 2nd earns 2 points, 3rd earns 3 points, etc. Individual medals are awarded to the lowest three accumulative point earners in each category (e.g. Grade 4 girls). Runners must compete in all three Wednesday races to be eligible for these awards.

    Awards are also given to the top three teams in each category on an accumulative point basis. Teams are made up of the first three finishers in each category from each school, and need not be the same three individuals for the three meets. Coaches may choose to have their Grade 3’s and younger run in the Grade 4 races as some schools may need to do this in order to field a team. Coaches can decide which race students compete in, however, students may only run in one race in each meet. They cannot run in the Grade 4 race and then in the Grade 3 race.

    Plaques will be awarded to the top 3 teams in each category (1 plaque per team in the school). Schools can then engrave the names of the runners they wish to recognize as being members of that team.

    In honour of Phil Booth (who started the Edmonton Harriers Cross-Country Series over 25 years ago and who has worked tirelessly with educators, coaches, parents, and athletes to encourage youth to participate in cross-country and track and field), the annual Phil Booth Award will go to the overall top school.

    If schools wish to provide medals for their team members, medals can be purchased for $9 each. They will be available for purchase by the schools at the Mill Woods Sports Park race only. If your school decides to purchase medals after the last race, the medals will be available for pickup at an Edmonton location, or we can send them to the school via courier (paid for by the school).

  • Cross-country races usually run regardless of weather. However, there are times when the race may have to be cancelled to prevent injury to athletes. All information pertaining to the race will be posted on the Harriers website (edmontonharriers.ca). If there is a question as to whether or not the race will be on, the Harriers website will be updated by midnight the night before the race.