Valdosta State’s men’s and women’s cross country programs are preparing for the Gulf South Conference Championship to be held in Birmingham, Ala. on Friday. Both teams have been training effectively to improve on their placing from the last few years. Results will be offered in next week’s article.

St. John Catholic School’s middle school cross country teams traveled to the 17th annual Bleckley County Cross Country Invitational on Saturday. They returned with two individual first place finishes, and the girls won the team championship with five girls in the top 10, and the boys team placed second with three boys in the top 10. Doyle Wallace and Mary Alice Smoot each won their respective two-mile events. These two teams are preparing for the GISA state meet, which will be held on Oct. 27 in Macon.

More information about events in the surrounding area of South Georgia:

Oct. 25 – The St. John Road Race will occur at the campus on Gornto Road for its fifth year. This is the largest event in our area and continues to grow each year. Applications are available to get you involved. Contact Get Active via e-mail to get more information.

Nov. 1 – The Memory Run 5K on the Valdosta Middle School Track has been canceled, because the VMS track is being resurfaced. The Memory Walk will still be held, however.

Nov. 8 – The VSU Student Rec Center presents its annual 10K Turkey Trot. Applications are now available.

Nov. 15 – The 5K Turkey Trot presented at the VMS is a road race that supports the Special Olympics and the Azalea Cheerleading Extreme competitive cheerleading teams. Applications are available at Get Active.

Dec. 6 – The Women’s Junior Service League presents the third annual Jingle Bell Classic 15K and more. Put this family event on your calendar today.

All of these events will be good for the entire family to be involved in. Be sure to put the dates on your calendar right now. Applications are either at Get Active, or will be soon. Make the decision now to be a part of these events.

When you participate in an event where A Course/Line, LLC is the timing group, you can bring your race number to Get Active – Running and More on that Saturday or Sunday and receive 10 percent off purchases of in-stock items regularly priced. The 10 percent discount is not to be combined with any other offer, discount or coupons.

If you have questions about your walking, running or other training, drop me an e-mail and I will do my level best to answer your questions. Check out www.getactivevaldosta.com to get connected. Become a member of the GetActiveSouthGeorgia yahoo group with over 100 other people. Listen to the Get Active South Georgia radio program on Tuesday evenings from 6-7 p.m. on Talk 92.1 FM.

to receive additional information or to ask questions.