Flrunners.com Invitational: It’s a record
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With nearly 5,000 runners participating in the flrunners.com Invitational at Holloway Park this weekend, Sept. 28-29, this will be the largest event of its kind in the state. And the growing number of college, high school, middle school and even elementary school runners will enjoy an improved course in tiptop condition.
Last year, the event happened just weeks after Hurricane Irma roared through Florida. This year, thanks to improvements made on the grounds as well as Central Florida having been spared the wrath of a passing hurricane, the newly refreshed course is in prime shape.
The flrunners.com Invitational has been a staple on the Florida cross country calendar since it started in 2000. Jason Byrne, who founded the meet while a sophomore at Florida Southern College, held the first annual race at Polk Community College in Winter Haven. The event flourished there for three years, doubling each year during that time span from 450 to 900 to 1,800 athletes. Last year, Holloway Park hosted 191 schools, from which there were 376 teams and more than 3,000 athletes who finished the 20 different races, making it one of the largest annual cross country events in the nation.
“Holloway Park is basically transformed into a running Bedouin village,” said Marc Zimmerman, senior sales and events manager for Polk County Sports Marketing (PCSM). “Teams and families will cover the lower area with tents and pop-ups. Then, after two days, it is all gone.”
Up until last year, the flrunners.com Invitational had called Titusville home for the previous decade. But the combination of the larger facility in Holloway Park – especially its vast number of spectator viewing spots – as well as the accommodations available in the area and, ultimately, Byrne’s history with PCTSM, where he once worked as an intern.
Zimmerman forecasts that the meet will bring in more than $1 million of direct economic impact.