MileSplit describes the finish at Holmdel Park as the moment runners come "popping out of the woods in front of a roaring crowd to the finish line." In its article on the 2026 Brooks XC Northeast Championship, MileSplit also says the girls' NJSIAA Meet of Champions has been run there every year since it began in 1972, and the boys' race since 1976.
This November that crowd comes back three Saturdays in a row. The Monmouth County Park System's Holmdel Park page lists the NJSIAA State Group Championships on November 7, the NJSIAA Meet of Championships on November 14, and the Brooks Northeast Regional Qualifiers on November 21. Each Saturday has different parking and access rules. On top of that, the park now closes earlier, and archery season is open in one section. Taken together, the Sundays are the park's quiet days this month.
Each Saturday Has Its Own Parking Rules
You might drive in on the 7th and the 14th and find two different arrangements. The organizers' meet pages on MileSplit lay them out, and they are worth checking again before each race day.
| Saturday | Event | Race times | Where spectators park |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 7 | NJSIAA State Group Championships | First race 9:30 a.m., last race 3:00 p.m. | Bell Works Gold Lot, shuttle to the park |
| November 14 | NJSIAA Meet of Champions | Boys 11:00 a.m., girls 12:00 noon | Holmdel Park, as directed by rangers |
| November 21 | Brooks Northeast XC Championship | Races at 9, 10, 11 a.m. and noon | Not listed on the race page |
This Saturday's Group Championships has the strictest rules. The Group Championships meet page says there is "NO PARKING ALLOWED at Holmdel Park or in the surrounding neighborhoods," and that "cars parking on the streets in the surrounding neighborhoods will be ticketed and possibly towed at the owners expense." All buses and spectators park at Bell Works, 101 Crawfords Corner Road, in the Gold Lot. Shuttles run between the lot and the park from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fare is $5 per person, cash only, and a handicap-accessible bus is available.
That one Saturday holds 12 races. The NJSIAA's 2026-27 tournament regulations schedule separate boys' and girls' races for Groups 1 through 4 and Non-Public A and B. The boys start at 9:30 a.m. with Non-Public B, the girls start at 10:30 a.m., and the girls' Group 3 race goes off at 3:00 p.m. The same morning, Holmdel Township is holding a free paper-shredding event at the Holmdel Township Recycling Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to a township alert posted October 30.
A week later the arrangement reverses. For the Meet of Champions, the meet page says spectators park at Holmdel Park and follow the rangers' instructions. Team buses drop runners at the park and then go to an assigned lot at Bell Works. Bikes are not allowed in the park while the races are on. The field is smaller. Under NJSIAA rules, each group champion advances, plus the next eight non-champion teams after the group results are merged, for 14 teams per gender. Individuals qualify too: the top ten in each group and the next 30 fastest runners not already on a qualifying team.
The Third Saturday Is New to Holmdel
The Brooks race on November 21 is the first time this regional has come to Holmdel. MileSplit reports that the Brooks XC Northeast Championship was held in Boston for the past three seasons and is moving to Holmdel Park this year. The field is larger than New Jersey's. Runners can enter from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, D.C.
The schedule fills the morning. The Fleet Feet race listing shows an open 5K and a youth 3K at 9 a.m., freshman and sophomore 5Ks at 10 a.m., junior and senior 5Ks at 11 a.m., and the girls' and boys' championship 5Ks at noon. MileSplit names those two final races the Marty Lewis Championship boys race and the Phil Zodda Championship girls race. The top ten finishers in each qualify for the Brooks XC Championship at Balboa Park in San Diego. Brooks lists that national final for December 12, 2026. The race listing gives no spectator parking plan for the 21st, so check it closer to the date.
Why the Course Draws These Meets
The Bowl is the main reason these meets are hard. MileSplit's course history describes a steep climb of about 150 feet out of the Bowl after the mile mark, reaching the top just before mile two. Before that come the "roller coasters" of the first mile, and after it a wooded downhill to the finish. Runners cross grass, dirt, rocks and groomed paths, plus some wooden steps that keep the trails from washing out.
The current 5K layout has been used since 1979. Both course records were set at the Shore Coaches Invitational: Edward Cheserek ran 14:53 in 2011, and Katelyn Tuohy ran 16:21 in 2018. November finishes a long season on this ground. The county's 2026 schedule started with the Hillsborough High School Invitational on September 18, then the Shore Coaches Invitational on October 3 and the Monmouth County Championships on October 15.
The 1890s Calendar Keeps Running Inside the Same Park
On the same Saturdays, Historic Longstreet Farm keeps its own schedule. It sits inside Holmdel Park, where Park System staff recreate farm life of the 1890s. The county's event calendar lists free programs on most November weekends:
- Sunday, November 8, 1 to 3 p.m.: Blacksmith demonstration in the farm's blacksmith shop.
- Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Cookstove demonstration on the farmhouse woodstove.
- Saturday, November 14, 1 to 3 p.m.: Turn-of-the-century piano ballads in the farmhouse.
- Saturday, November 21, 1 to 3 p.m.: Accordion melodies of the 1890s.
- Saturday, November 28, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Another cookstove demonstration.
Two of these overlap with the championships. The piano ballads begin at 1 p.m. on November 14, an hour after the girls' Meet of Champions race starts. The accordion program on November 21 starts after the last scheduled Brooks race has begun. Of all the programs, only the blacksmith demonstration on the 8th and the cookstove morning on the 28th fall on weekend days with no meet.
Shorter Hours, Archery Season and Quieter Sundays
The park is open fewer hours this month. It opens at 7 a.m. every day of the year. On November 1, the county moved closing time from 7:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and that schedule runs through January 18. On November 7, the meet shuttles from Bell Works are scheduled until 5 p.m., half an hour before the park closes.
The other seasonal change is in the Ramanessin Section. The county's park page says portions of that section are open for deer hunting during the 2026/2027 season. The county's 2026-27 deer management table lists Holmdel Park's Ramanessin Section for archery only, from October 1, 2026, through February 20, 2027. The county's administrative procedures for the program prohibit hunting on Sundays. The Ramanessin trails are also where the county directs cyclists and equestrians. Anyone who rides or walks there regularly can check the boundary maps in the county's table.
That explains the pattern in the park's November calendar. Every championship meet is on a Saturday, and archery hunting runs Monday through Saturday. On November 8, 15, 22 and 29, there is no meet and no hunting anywhere in the park. The park's full 719 acres and roughly 9.5 miles of trails are open, and the park closes at 5:30 p.m.
Bell Works Carries the Month to Thanksgiving
On November 7, Bell Works serves as the meet's parking lot, and it stays busy for the rest of the month. The Bell Works calendar lists the Fresh Wednesday Market on November 11 and 18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It also lists a Saturday market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 14, the day Meet of Champions buses park in its assigned lot. On Sunday, November 15, Bell Works hosts Diwali Dazzle with the Holmdel Indian Association from 2 to 5 p.m. It is open to the public, with dance, music, snacks and henna.
The month's last race is also at Bell Works. The Run Your Giblets Off Turkey Trot is on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26. The 5K waves start at 9 and 9:30 a.m., walkers start at 9:45, and the kids' run is at 10:45. Registration is $45 for the 5K run or walk and $30 for the kids' run. Packet pickup is Sunday, November 22, and Wednesday, November 25. Two days later, on Saturday, November 28, Bell Works holds its Fresh Holiday Saturday Market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. That same morning, the woodstove is lit again at Longstreet Farm.
At Critelli Realtors®, we follow Holmdel's calendar as closely as its market, including parking plans on meet days and the farm programs inside the park. If your plans for the year ahead include a home in Holmdel, schedule a free consultation and we can talk them through with you.
