LOCATION AND PARKING
Lancaster County Central Park just south of Lancaster City and click on Central Park

Keep in mind that Lancaster can be a confusing place to drive with numerous one-way streets that do not always parallel each other.  If you use Mapquest or some other source for directions, the address to the parking area is:  Lancaster County Department of Parks and Recreation, Environmental Center, One Nature’s Way, Lancaster, PA  17602.

From points north, take North Duke Street through the city of Lancaster.  As you pass through the city you will come to a point where the road bears slightly to the right and turns into South Duke Street.  Continue on South Duke Street to the light at Chesapeake Street.  Continue straight ahead and the edge of the park will appear on your right.  Turn right on Eshelman Mill Road.  Look for the Environmental Center (stone/red barn) on the right.  Turn right onto narrow road (Nature’s Way) at the Environmental Center.  Parking attendants will direct your van or charter bus into the grass field parking area adjacent to the course.

PLEASE NOTE:  If the Environmental Center Field used for parking is excessively soft/wet, we are required to park 600m away in the parking lot adjacent to the Skate Park off Eshelman Mill Road.  There is limited protection from the elements at the start/finish line.  So in the case of a hard rain, you may want to use your transportation as your staging area knowing that the starting line is a three minute jog away.

LODGING AND RESTAURANTS
Hotel/Restaurants: There is not a host hotel, but Willow Valley Resort in Willow Street would be a good place to start as it’s only 5-10 minutes from the course.  All the hotels along the Route 30 corridor in Lancaster, PA are within a 15-20 minute drive of the course as well.

DRESSING ROOMS/SHOWERS:
Because the meet is held at a county park there is not adequate shower/dressing facilities so plan accordingly.

MEET SETUP
The start and finish lines are near parking, check-in/awards, and port-a-johns.  The boundaries of the course will be marked with solid, painted lines, large arrows, and pennant roping.  Mile splits will be provided.  There is a common starting line adjacent to the Environmental Center, but separate finish lines for the men’s 8k course and the women’s 6k course.

MEN'S COURSE (8,000 meters)
The 8000m men’s course is fairly challenging with at least four significant uphill climbs.  The footing is good, but technical in some places.  The course will probably be considered a 6-7 in difficulty with a 1 equaling “pancake flat” (University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh) and 10 equaling “totally insane” (Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, WV).  DeSales University’s course would be considered a 7 as well.

The 8000m men’s course can be thought of as having a “front half” and a “back half” connected by running back-and-forth along the 300m Ugh Hill (an abandoned/paved road).  The front half of the course will challenge the harriers with a rolling first mile on grass.  Shortly after passing the mile, the runners return to Golf Road and turn right heading down the Powerline Trail.  Near 1-1/4 miles, the course quickly turns into a technical dirt trail with lots of turns, roots, and rocks.  Upon reaching Mill Creek, the runners turn right and head toward the covered bridge.  Soon they begin their ascent up Ugh Hill and enter the back half of the course.

Upon cresting Ugh Hill, the course crosses Golf Road in two places and the runners enter the Mill Creek Loop.  The 2M mark and the 3M mark bookend the Mill Creek Loop.  This is considered the most picturesque part of the course as the flat, grass loop is enclosed by a canopy of trees and runs adjacent to Mill Creek.  Just after three miles, the men turn sharply right onto the Cornfield Loop while loops back in the reverse direction of the Mill Creek Loop.  The men re-enter the Mill Creek Loop at the Wildflower Area and ascend this challenging hill back to the beginning of the Mill Creek Loop (passing the 2M mark in the opposite direction).

Just after passing the 4M mark, the runners descend Ugh Hill and re-enter the front half of the course.  They continue under the covered bridge, along Lower Scout Trail next to Mill Creek, past the women’s finish area, up Little Ugh, and straight to the finish line adjacent to the starting line.

WOMEN'S COURSE (6,000 meters)
The 6000m women’s course is slightly less challenging than the men’s course as several significant hills are taken out of play.  The footing is good, but technical in some places.  The course will probably be considered a 5-6 in difficulty with a 1 equaling “pancake flat” (University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh) and 10 equaling “totally insane” (Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, WV).  By comparison, Dickinson College’s course would be considered a 4.

The 6000m women’s course can be thought of as having a “front half” and a “back half” connected by running back-and-forth along the 300m Ugh Hill (an abandoned/paved road).  The front half of the course will challenge the harriers with a rolling first 1,100m on grass that loops back adjacent to and beyond the start.  The women runners soon enter the woods on the Upper Scout Trail.  The course quickly turns into a technical dirt trail with lots of turns, roots, and rocks.  Upon reaching Mill Creek, the runners turn right and head toward the covered bridge.  They then begin their ascent up Ugh Hill and enter the back half of the course.

Upon cresting Ugh Hill, the course crosses Golf Road in two places and the runners enter the Mill Creek Loop.  This is considered the most picturesque part of the course as the flat, grass loop is enclosed by a canopy of trees and runs adjacent to Mill Creek.  The runners pass the 2M mark about halfway through the one mile-long Mill Creek Loop.  The runners exit the woods around 2-1/2 miles and return to the entrance of the Mill Creek Loop by running in the grass alongside Exhibit Farm Road.  They then make a left turn, and, passing the 3M mark, begin the descent down Ugh Hill to the covered bridge.

They re-enter the front half of the course at this point, now running on the Lower Scout Trail.  The women exist the woods and finish alongside Mill Creek in the Mill Creek Camping Area. 

COURSE MAPS
Course maps are available at www.etown.edu/sports.  A color copy of each map will be sent to each MAC school’s cross country coach.

T-SHIRTS
T-shirt designs and pre-order information will be sent to each coach via email in mid-October.  ETown T&F captain, Mike Mauger, is in-charge of this process.

ENTRY FEE
No entry fee is required for participation in the MAC Championships.
           
ENTRY DEADLINE
The entry deadline is Monday, October 27, 2008 at 5:00pm.  Feel free to send in your entries earlier than this deadline.  Please use the provided entry form and clearly list all members of each team as you wish it to appear in the meet program.  Email this form to the Elizabethtown College SID, Jim Miller, at millerj@etown.edu or fax to his attention at (717) 361-1148.

PACKET PICK-UP
The packet pick-up table will be located in the back of the Environmental Center (stone/red barn).  Packets can be picked up only between 8:30-9:00am.  Immediately upon arrival, receive team packets with bib #’s, pins, and box assignments and proceed to the coaches meeting inside the Environmental Center which starts at 9:00am. 

ATHLETIC TRAINING
Elizabethtown College Athletic Training staff will provide ice/water and be on-site the morning of the meet.  Please bring your own medical supplies.  Any questions, please call (717) 361-1564.

LIGHTNING PROCEDURE
In case of lightning, coaches are to remain on standby inside the Environmental Center and we simply follow the Athletic Trainers’ instructions.

RESULTS/AWARDS
Upon the conclusion of the women’s 6000m race (around 12:30pm), coaches are to proceed to the Environmental Center to vote for MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year.  At 1:00 pm everyone can gather in front of the Environmental Center for the results and awards ceremony.  Athletes are to dress in school issued apparel with no hats.  The Top 20 individuals in each race are named All-MAC.  Places 1-10 are named First-Team All-MAC, while places 11-20 are named Second-Team All-MAC.  Results will be posted after the meet on the Internet at www.etown.edu/sports.

CONTACTS
If necessary, direct questions to Coach Christopher Straub at (717) 361-1140 (office) or (717) 413-6152 (cell).  Jim Miller, Elizabethtown College SID, can be reached at (717) 361-1311.  Tammy Agesen is the Recreation Coordinator of Lancaster County Central Park and her office number is (717) 299-8215.