Wow, what an honor. ESPN.com has named York’s 2004 Boy’ Cross Country Team, under the coaching of legend Joe Newton the cross country team for the entire decade! Here’s what they had to say:

Boys Team of the Decade: York (Elmhurst, Ill.) 2004

Sean McNamara

“In 2004, when the new age of national team cross country championships was rolled out, an epic showdown was at hand between York and Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.). Both teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 all year, with legendary coach Joe Newton’s squad being led by front-runner Sean McNamara and the prodigal Dettman twins. When they finally met at Portland Meadows for the first NTN (as it was called then), the crew from the Land of Lincoln carried the day.

McNamara would finish first in 15:43.9, leading York to a 92-point total. Through the 2009 NXN, no boys team has had a lower score. Earlier, York had gone 1-2-3 at the Illinois 2A state meet, an unheard-of feat in a major state, and won by 95 points. It was the squad’s 24th title under Newton. One of the small handful of consistently national elite programs, York had many great teams in the past and more would come later in the decade, but this one has been judged the best.”

To read about the individual runners ESPN gave honors to click this link: ESPN

If you spend $50 or more in our ONLINE STORE you will get FREE standard shipping on your entire

However fast you are running, run faster...by Coach Joe Newton

order. Give The Long Green Line TSHIRTS and HATS to your XC runners or how about a 7 PACK OF DVDS for your entire team?  Visit our ONLINE STORE store and take advantage of this very generous offer.

You must purchase by 12/16/09 in order to get your items by Xmas using Standard Shipping. But we will leave this offer open through Xmas.

For all you fans of The Long Green Line we have a very active facebook group with fun interactions daily. We’d love for you to join us on there. If you’re a facebook member just click the link below and become a fan. Write on our wall and say hi when you join.

LGL ON FACEBOOK

You can also find us on twitter and at xmas time this is quite a treat. We will be announcing many sales and discounts on our products through xmas. If you follow us please make sure to say hi. Just click the link below.

LGL ON TWITTER

This caught our attention…it was in Runner’s World quoting the ever popular Coach Charlie Kern, former Assistant Coach for York.

Super Distance Summit Set for January in Charlotte
The Summit is on January 2 and 3 at Queens University of Charlotte. The coaches who’ll speak include Brad Hudson, Armando Siqueiros, Scott Raczko, Pete Rea, and Jeff Johnson. Another is Charlie Kern, a former assistant to Joe Newton at the legendary York High School running program in Illinois; he’s featured in “Long Green Line,”a documentary about York. Kern notes “in the past decade we have seen tremendous improvement in American distance running.  I am certain that this improvement is directly related to the sharing of information.  I have learned from famous and not so famous coaches and each has helped me become a better coach.  I believe I can share insights that will help other coaches make some degree of improvement for their program.” Go to www.distancesummit.com for information.

To read the entire article head over to RUNNER’S WORLD.

A new review of The Long Green Line showed up on Runblogger this Saturday. Peter Larson, a

Peter Larson Concord, New Hampshire

self-professed distance running addict writes the blog and recommends The Long Green Line. He says, “Watching The Long Green Line renewed my regret in not having gone out for cross-country in high school, and gave an inside peek into the sport that I, as an adult-onset runner, really enjoyed.” You can read the rest of the review and his very interesting and informative blog by clicking this link: Runblogger

You can also follow him on Twitter, view his race history on Athlinks and view his tumbles on StumbleUpon.

Each year at The Running Event in Austin, TX, the biggest running store trade show of the year, Forumla4Media identifies the Top 50 Running Specialty Retailers throughout the United States. They base this on customer nominations, secret shoppers and feedback from industry vendors. 15 of the the Top 50 Running Stores in the nation are also supporters of The Long Green Line.

This year Naperville Running Company was named the 2009 Running Specialty Store of the Year. Store owner Kris Hartner was presented with the award at the “Top 50 Stores” presentation  by The Competitor Group.

Congratulations to all the top 50 stores and especially to our very own LGL Stores!

Kris Hartner, owner of Naperville Running Company, winner of Best Running Store in America.

North East/ Mid-Atlantic

Elite Runners and Walkers
Fleet Feet Sports Albany
Pacers
Whirlaway Sports

South East & South West

Track Shack, Orlando

The Midwest

Big River Running Company
Bob Roncker’s Running Spot
Hanson’s Running Shop
Naperville Running Company
Running Fit
Second Sole

The West

Shu’s Idaho Running Company
Skinny Raven Sports
Heart and Sole Sports
Wasatch Running Center

Stumbled upon this little gem. A runner in Utah, Brad Phippen recommends us in his nice blog about running.

“I want to use The Daily Stride portion of my blog to highlight things that motivate me in life and in running. Whether it is inspirational quotes, books, articles, websites, things that motivate me that I can

Brad, author of Keeping Stride - A blog about running

pass on to YOU…”

Check out his blog here: The Daily Stride

Runner's High in Metuchen, New Jersey opened in 2001. In 2005 they opened another location in Newport, New Jersey.

On a special day in gym class Rob DeFilippis was asked to run the often maligned freshman mile. When he breezed past all the other boys he began to realize that he  might have some success as a runner. It’s no wonder that his passion for running has burned since that fateful day. That same winter he ran indoor track at St. Joseph’s High School. Amazing that it sits less than a mile away from his Metuchen store, Runner’s High, which he went on to open in 2001. He also ran at the University of Maryland in College Park and from there returned to New Jersey, competing in many road races and several marathons including a top 10 finish at the Walt Disney World marathon.

Rob DeFilippis, owner of Runner's High

Rob currently works as the boy’s and girl’s cross country and track and field coach at Red Bank Catholic HS which is one of the better programs in New Jersey (you can check out their stats by following this LINK). His store even has a summer running camp for high school distance runners known as the Shore Running Experience.

Runner’s High offers its support to the community, not just as an elite running store but as a source to get the everyday person out the door whether it be on their morning walk or latest marathon. They sponsor various road races throughout the year and often do high school spike nights or other fun events that get people off the couch and pounding the pavement. So Rob’s draw to The Long Green Line came both as a competitor and a high school coach who had already heard of the legendary Coach Joe Newton and all his accomplishments. He was thrilled to carry it in his store and offer it as an inspirational gift to the running community in New Jersey.

The LONG GREEN LINE Special Under The Stars Screening!

• Friday, October 23, 2009 at 6:15 pm
• Mt. SAC Cross Country Course (Lower Building 50G Field)
• Admission is free (we will let people through the gate at 5:30 pm)

The Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational
has become our nation’s largest cross country invitational. Last year a record 22,000+ participants competed.

With races starting every 8 minutes or less and the live webcast/feed and the huge “Big Screen”, the event has become the most cherished cross country competiiton to the hundreds of thousands of runners who have competed in the invitational.

For more info click this link

In 8th grade, career aspirations for most boys run along the lines of doctor, lawyer or maybe teacher. If they’re different they might say rock star or stuntman. But if they’re really different and driven they might just be Kris Hartner. In 8th grade Hartner made a business card in his printing class for the running store he dreamed of owning. It’s true, the card is displayed behind the counter at his store, the Naperville Running Company, voted a Top 50 Running Store in the US for the last three years.

This passion for running began in 7th grade when challenged to the 600 yard dash for the Presidential Physical Fitness test. As other boys zoomed past,  Hartner could feel his chest tighten and his legs give out, he had to walk.  For a kid with his kind of gumption walking would not do. He had to beat it, he had to learn to run.  A few weeks later as Hartner was struggling with how to even begin. The cross country coach from the local high school for the boys and girls teams, Rick Kleyman, widely known in Minnesota as one of the all time greatest coaches, came to school to introduce himself.  As Hartner listened to Kleyman speak he knew he’d found his mentor.

In high school, Coach Kleyman nurtured Hartner’s love of running. Hartner lived out in the country and didn’t have access to get to practice in the summer months, so Kleyman would drive out and pick him up every summer day.  In return Hartner babysat Kleyman’s kids. After he put them to bed he’d race down to the “library”, a basement loaded with running books and magazines, and pour over the literature. Klayman’s goal was to make sure that his boys were runners for life – he didn’t encourage too much mileage but rather drills, form and fun. Hartner says, “Obviously it affected me – I’m still competing today and I’ve worked in the running industry since I was 16. That’s 26 years in the business.”

This summer, coming full circle, Hartner ran with Kleyman in the Master’s Nationals,  both participating in the 1,500 meters. Hartner says with a smile, “It was great to watch him and he gave me a few pointers after watching me race. I was leaning back too much in the last lap.”

Naperville Running Company opened in May 2000 bolstered by a vast running community – hundreds of heath conscious adults in Naperville do the Chicago Marathon each year and their High School cross country and track and field programs are tremendous. On top of that, North Central College is located a couple blocks from the store. It’s the preeminent cross country and track and field Division III college program in the nation.  The head coach, Al Carius has been there over 40 years and was named Sports Illustrated’s cross country coach of the century. Like all running specialty stores, they focus entirely on the customer – getting the right shoe or apparel on every person who walks through the door. They are blessed with an amazing staff  and welcome all runners and walkers, regardless of ability.

The connection Hartner felt to Coach Joe Newton and The Long Green Line was such an obvious link to what he learned from his high school coach that the moment Hartner knew he could sell it in his store he jumped at the chance. Hartner says, “Kleyman impacted my life like no other has. The same can be said of Joe Newton. It’s amazing to think about how many lives Coach Kleyman and Coach Newton have impacted over the years.”