Indianapolis, IN — Over 500 Masters athletes have entered the three Masters Races at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships to be held this Saturday at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. Two previous Club Cross Country Championships, in 2016 and 2021, have been held at this venue, now designated as the host for the 2026 World Cross Country Championships. For Masters athletes, there is a women’s race at 9 a.m., a 60 and up men’s race at 10 a.m. and a 40 and up men’s race at 11 a.m. The weather forecast is great for spectators, with temperatures rising from the low 60s to mid-70s under cloudy skies. The women’s race is loaded with talent. Top headliners for the overall win, from rival Oregon teams, are Carrie Dimoff the 13th place finisher in the Marathon at the Doha World Championships and Renee Metivier, a five-time competitor for Team USA at the World Cross Country Championships. Katie Sherron, who won the Club Championship on this course in 2021, will try to repeat for the hometown Gulf Winds team. Jennifer Pesce, the 2023 Masters Champion at 5 km and 12 km on the roads, arrives for her first outing at a Masters Cross Country championship, hoping to lead her Garden State team to victory. Nat Larson enters as the favorite in the men’s 60 and over race. Not only did he win last year at San Francisco, the 2023 Masters Male Road Runner of the Year has broken 60-64 American Records at almost every distance from the Mile to the Half Marathon. His victory is not certain as there has been extremely robust competition in this division. Steve Schmidt, who finished second to Larson in San Francisco, Rick Lee, the 50 km and 50 mile American record holder for 60-64, and John Van Danacker who finished fourth last year, will challenge Larson for the title. Van Danacker turned the tables, coming in ahead of Lee at the 2023 USATF Cross Country Championships in Richmond and Schmidt accomplished a similar feat at the Masters 5 km road championships in Atlanta. Mark Zamek could be a new name in the mix, having won the USATF Masters 5 km Cross Country Championships and finished third at the USATF Masters 10 km Championships. Shore AC, led by Lee and Zamek, will battle Van Danacker’s TC Running Company out of Minnesota, for the 60+ team honors. The men’s 40 and over teams take to the course. Jesse Davis won here in 2021 under sunny skies but finished fifth to Malcolm Richards’ third place finish in the wind and rain at Golden Gate Park last year. Alexander Taylor hopes to move up from his sixth-place finish here in 2021 and lead his Tracksmith Boston Hares to victory. Davis leads the Indiana Elite team, which has won the last two team championships in the 40 and over race. Richards leads West Valley which has finished right behind Indiana, losing by a single point two years ago. Davis and Taylor both ran 2:17:30 marathons this year, Davis at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, and Taylor at Grandma’s in Duluth. Richards has participated in three Olympic Marathon Trials. Five-year age division individual national champions will be crowned. There will be exciting races for 50+ and 70+ team divisions as well. Submitted by Paul Carlin