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Donna on the Side
Manhattan Invitational
by Donna Dye
NEW YORK 10/14/00 -- I love New York. No matter where in New York, even the Bronx. I still love New York! The Manhattan College Invitational gave me yet another reason to visit this exciting city. Now to show you how much I love New York, I agreed to get up and out of the house at 5:00 a.m. to catch the train with John for a day trip and then get back on the train at 9:30 p.m. to get home at 12:00 midnight. Well it was worth it. I had great coffee and good food; met some wonderful people, saw some terrific races and marveled at the skyscrapers with their huge screens at night. And then, got back on the train!
The Manhattan Invitational is a very well known and established event. This was the 28th time it was conducted at Vancortlandt Park. When I first heard of the Manhattan, I thought it was in Manhattan. Then I learned that it was named after the Manhattan College which is actually in the Bronx. I was certainly relieved when I learned that it was still in New York! Well, in a way it was still named after Manhattan because the college is named after Manhattan. The Manhattan College is an old institution that was originally established as a school in lower Manhattan by the Brothers of the Christian Schools back in 1848. It moved to the Manhattanville section of New York City which was at 131st and Broadway and became a collegiate institution named Manhattan College. It is now in the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx and bordered by the Hudson River and Van Cortlandt Park.
The Manhattan Invitational began in 1973. It's a little different than most cross country meets because the course distance is 2.5 miles, instead of 3 miles or 5k. But it makes up the distance in difficulty as any runner will tell you. The Manhattan Invitational is also a little different with its prizes. This year it awarded 3,415 prizes: 2,853 medals, 455 T-shirts, 29 watches, 65 trophies and 13 windbreakers. There were 75 medals awarded in every race.
I had a lot of fun talking, walking, watching. I met some great people and took some good pictures. Now let me share them with you.
Guilderland - Saratoga - Starpoint - Schuylerville
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What a perfect mascot for the Manhattan
Invitational-- |
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Guilderland Getting ready--Getting Psyched! |
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The biggest load of the day for the Saratoga! |
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Faithfully Waiting |
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And Watching |
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Angela Kudla from Starpoint and Mother, Karen, happy about
her 4th place finish in the Eastern States Girls Race. |
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The Shaws from Schuylerville came to cheer on son
Isaiah. Franklin, Moriah, Susan (right). Isaiah
finished 23rd in the Varsity A Boys. |
more Donna on the Side in New York
Part
1 - Guilderland - Saratoga - Starpoint - Schuylerville
Part 2 - Lewes DE - Gloucester MA - Brewster parents
- Bryan Kivlan - Cherokee NJ - Bellmore - Bronxville - Colonie - Holy Name
- Aquinas
Part 3 - Danbury CT - New Hartford NY - George
Febles - Sandy Pashkin - Brian Diaz - Sports Medicine - Connie Gueli
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