COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's and women's cross country teams will host the fourth annual Equality Invitational on campus on Saturday, rare equal-distance 8K races for all genders. The men get underway at 10 a.m. before the women start at 11 a.m.
 
The meet, which until 2023 included what was believed to be the country's only NCAA women's cross country race longer than 6K, features the Purple Knights, University of Vermont, Vermont State University Randolph and NHTI. In the same spirit as Saint Michael's men's and women's cross country and outdoor track head coach Molly Peters, a long-time equal-distances proponent, Paul Deaton, the head coach at perennial league championship contender Berry (Ga.) College of the NCAA Division III Southern Athletic Association (SAA), has hosted a women's 8K the last two years.
 
Peters has headed a movement that led to the International Ski Federation (FIS) and NCAA implementing equal distances for their men's and women's Nordic races. She has similar goals for NCAA cross country, and recently crafted a proposal supported by big-name runners like Joan Benoit, Lynn Jennings, Kathrine Switzer and Kara Goucher, as well as numerous college coaches. The NCAA currently offers a 10K for men and a 6K for women at regional and national championships, with most regular-season races run at an 8K length for men and 6K for women.
 
"At Saint Michael's, we're proud to host the Equality Invitational because it represents progress in our sport," said Peters. "Running equal distances is about more than fairness on the course; it's about the message we send to the athletes racing and the young athletes watching. When women line up for the same distance as men, they see their hard work honored in the same way, and they know they belong at the center of the competition. That's what this meet is all about."
 
For more than four years, Peters has been advocating for the NCAA to implement a change to equal-distance races. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and the NCAA Championships and Alliances department have recommended NCAA cross country committees for each division survey the athletes about race distances, which they have yet to do. "We need to let the athletes' voices be heard," said Peters, "and we need to allow women the opportunity to race equal distances."
 
Admission is free for the event, and spectators are encouraged to park in the lot in front of the Tarrant Recreation Center. The course begins on the 300s Townhouses recreation field, situated behind the Tarrant Recreation Center, before winding through the Doc Jacobs Field Complex and into Winooski's Gilbrook Natural Area, ultimately sending the runners back out of the woods and down the stretch along the tree line parallel with the campus road.