Why do cross country

A few seconds later, mud was dripping from his face, a gratuitous reminder that men were ahead of him, running with spikes caked in liquified dirt. It was a stampede of mega proportions; an assemblage of true competitors, all of whom have once tasted glory in small spheres, but today had come together on a kamikaze mission.

There is nothing more intense and physically grueling than a foot race. On a run, each step thrusts three times your body weight against the ground in a jarring movement repeated times per minute, while gliding in water is far from the same impact on the body. Looked at from a different perspective, how often does a cyclist or swimmer get injured and the prescribed cross-training activity while they heal is running?

Stay within yourself. Monitor your breathing. There is plenty of time. It beckons to the person chasing you that you are no longer in the hunt to move forward and pass, but rather you are now petrified of what is coming from behind. Your race is over, and if a hungry competitor is in your shadow, that person will pounce at your pending immolation.

And yet, some 80 strides into the race, curiosity overwhelmed me, and I glanced back. There was no one there. Cross country races are as thrilling as they are raw tests of will and strength. Throw in some rain, and you now have footing as reliable as sand on the beach with the precarious threat of an icy sidewalk. For those who run cross country growing up, the advice is simple: get out hard. Put yourself in position. As though sprinting the first meters of a 5K is going to lead to your best performance.

Slow down to speed up? Where is the course going? How soon until it narrows? Where should I position myself to avoid getting stuck — behind others, and in mud? And as it dropped from people wide to barely 10, I swung to the far right side of the course, figuring even running extra distance at times would still allow for a smoother run. I grew up racing.

And we proceeded to do that basically every weekend for the following 8 years, although we did start to add some mid-week runs to the routine. Cross country in schools is a team sport, and there is both a lot of strategy and pride in running with your teammates.

Working together to drop runners from another team. Alternating who surges, and knowing the quick tips to wake up a teammate, be it to focus on your shoulders or the arm swing, the knee-lift or the push-off. A great sprint finish between two racers is often rewarded with the shaking of hands once the dust has settled and the heart rate has dropped. Ultimately we all want to run faster, and the best way to achieve this is to have others at your side, pushing you.

Be patient but alert. I was not sure how I would like it, but what started out as something to put on a college resume ended being one of my greatest passions. Running has become a part of who I am and, because of it, it has made me a happier and healthier person. In my opinion, cross country will always be the best and most underrated sport. There are a ton of reasons, however, I will just name a few! No matter who you are or where you are from anyone can do cross country.

It does not matter how good or bad you. It is the work ethic and time you put into and that is where you get results. Ok, so this is not entirely true, but hear me out! Cross country meets are probably some of the shortest sports both on and off the course. Meets do not go on for hours like football and soccer games do. Spectators are always happy with this fact, however the racer still has to deal with those long bus rides. Probably my favorite thing about this sport!

Fall means the start of cross country season. Not just for high school and collegiate athletes, all runners can benefit from the training that is needed to take on a cross country course.

More than , high school student-athletes participate in cross country every fall in the United States alone. Then ask any adult runners, triathletes, cyclists, etc. Not only will they tell you they loved it too, but they may just start rattling off old war stories about mile repeats, tempo runs and grueling 5k races with crazy hills that seem to grow in length as the years go by.

As I think many a runner would tell you, cross country is where I really fell in love with running. All of them are moments I will never forget. Especially with the recent rise of mud-themed off road races think cross country on steroids , there is nothing stopping you from experiencing the simultaneous joy and pain that is cross country!

For my money, the beauty of racing over hill and dale is in its simplicity. The best high school and college coaches in the country, in my opinion, know this. Read the now famous book, Running with the Buffaloes , by author Chris Lear about the cross country season at the University of Colorado and coach Mark Wetmore.

Though each coach does things a little differently, the overarching theme is the same; cross country workouts are about preparing the body for the rigors of race day and race day is going to be tough!

Building a fundamental base of running and cardiovascular capacity can help athletes, regardless of what their primary sport is. If you are a sprinter and like to jump, there are nearly a half dozen of events in track you can try. If you like to run for a long time, and you're really strong, there are multiple events for you to try as well. What is so cool about track and field is that it provides many different activities for athletes to prove how truly athletic they are. If you think you're fast, line up against five to seven other athletes and prove it.

Think you're strong? Throw this shotput farther than the people in your throwing flight. The beauty of track and field is in its "put up or shut up" structure. Those who like to talk about what they can do have to actually prove it.