Cross country is a unique sport for many reasons, and one of the most distinctive is the atmosphere at each race. Each week, the Boy’s Cross Country team travels to a new course to compete against not only other schools and their teammates, but also against themselves. The team has to train differently each week to accompany their upcoming course style. They have to prepare for different hills, holes, woods, turns, and so much more at each course. The different courses, along with this specific style of training, affects the athletes in different ways. While each course is unique in its own way, some courses are more favored than others.
“My favorite course to run is probably the Noblesville or Brownsburg course,” said Cross Country runner Isaac Smith. “They are flat, fast, and always have good competition. I don’t really have a least favorite course, I think they all have some value and enjoyment in them.”
Running on a course multiple times throughout a season allows for athletes to become familiar with where they are competing. They know where the tricky turns are and where the straightaways are when they can speed up and excel. Knowing the different features of a course coming up is a good tactic so teams can start training for the course specifically and it’s challenges.
“For hilly courses, we try to get some workouts in on rolling courses to prepare”, said Boy’s Cross Country coach Joe Golden. “It is more of a psychological factor, so getting used to it helps the athletes prepare. Sometimes we will do hill repeats as well.”
The weather on meet weekend also has a big effect on the course and the athletes running. Rain makes the ground more wet and slippery causing slippage and possible injuries while a really hot sunny day might dry up the ground and make it super hard to run on. Intense heat might also tire the athletes more and cause them to start to feel sick which might affect their times and scores.
“Weather conditions like rain and snow (later in the season) can have the most dramatic effect on a course,” said Boy’s Cross Country runner Liam Powers. “A typical easy course can quickly become difficult if you have to navigate through a sludgy, muddy mess.
Cross country is more than just a race, it is a test of adaptability. Between the variety of course layouts with the specific training needed for each and the unpredictable weather conditions, no two meets are ever the same. For the Boy’s Cross Country team, every race brings new challenges and new opportunities both mentally and physically. Whether the course is flat, hilly, muddy or dry, the athletes have learned to embrace the uniqueness of each race and grow from the previous one.
