Jason Saretsky, the head coach of Harvard track and field and cross country, did not have to do much tweaking to the cross country schedule, as both his squads have seen vast improvements in league, regional and national meets since he took over the program in 2006. The Crimson will compete at Franklin Park and Van Cortland Park and will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for Pre-Nationals all in preparation for the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships and the Northeast Regional in October and November.

The 2009 cross country season officially gets underway Sept. 19 with the first of two races at Van Cortland Park in New York City. Harvard will participate in the15th Annual Br. John “Paddy” Doyle/Iona Meet of Champions hosted by the two-time national runner-up Gaels. On Oct .2, the Crimson will host archrival Yale in the annual HY dual race. It will be the 96th meeting between the two men's squads and the 33rd for the women.  Harvard has won the last two meets and looks to continue that win streak when they run at Franklin Park.

The following weekend, the squads will split into two with one squad traveling to the Pre-national Meet in Terre Haute and the other competing at the 43rd UAlbany Invitational in Albany, N.Y. 

After a week off, the teams will return to New York to take on the other seven Ivy League schools at the Heptagonal Championships.  Harvard will look to continue its climb up the league standings after the women finished fifth and the men placed sixth in 2008.

On Nov. 14, the Crimson will run on its home course, Franklin Park, at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships in hopes on punching a ticket to the NCAA Championships slated for Monday, Nov. 24 in Terre Haute.

Harvard has had at least one NCAA qualifier on either the men's or women's side in four of the last five years.