This statue has stood as the pinnacle of Van Cortlandt Park and the memorialization of it’s legendary cross country course. The statue comes from Aesop’s fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare” and has “slow and steady wins the race” inscribed…
This banner was put up on the finish line of the cross country course to celebrate 100 years of the cross country course. The cross country course has been active since 1913.
This shirt commemorates the Manhattan Invitational; where the park and Manhattan College host the largest high school cross country invitational meet of the year.
Located right across the street of the Tortoise and Hare Statue is the restaurant named The Tortoise and the Hair. In fact, the restaurant named itself after the statue in order to become recognizable to the community. It has been a local favorite…
This part of the course is perhaps the most famous. Many think that it is called cemetery hill because of how steep and long the hill is, but it is named that because at the top of the hill is the cemetery of the Van Cortlandt family, whom the park…
A couple of years ago, there have been new arrows put on the trail to guide the racers. This is because the older arrows on the trail have rusted over the years and the course has also changed.
The two polls that stand on the side of the trail by the Tortoise and Hare Statue has been the finish line since the beginning of the cross country course’s existence. It is another landmark of the course which has been crossed by every person who…
Where the finish line has always been the same, the starting line has always been different. This has been the starting line for the past few years for many of the collegiate races.
Although gravel is on almost every cross country course in the nation, the gravel at Van Cortlandt Park is special because not many places in New York City have gravel on their trails. It is also the preferred surface for runners to run on.
This bridge was erected to connect two parts of the park after a highway cut the park in two. The bridge has been raced on by famous runners of both the past and the present such as Steve Prefontaine, Matt Centrowitz, and more.