The Long Mile

Cross Country: All about the Distance

November 28, 2018

The Long Reach High School Varsity Men’s and Women’s Cross Country team. Photo courtesy of Israel Carunungan.

Cross country is simply not about the race. Cross country is about what you do to prepare for the race.

In comparison to track, cross country runners can run meets anywhere in the grassy outdoors: soccer fields, golf courses, parks, and even cornfields. In track you are limited to, well, just the track–either indoor or outdoor.

If you want to be a cross country star try doing these things…

Workout and run at least 60-70 minutes for three-four days per week.
Try running a 5k and then a marathon to see if you’re up for the challenge.
During warmer seasons, run at least 5 days a week.
ALWAYS stretch before and after running.
Give yourself a break if needed.
Lastly, WORK ON YOUR BREATHING!! You should be able to keep a steady breath throughout your run.

When it comes to being prepared as a coach and teaching your athletes how to become a better cross country runner, Coach Lawrence stated, “I ran Cross Country in high school, so I try to remember some of the things that I did which made runner easier. I have also read a couple of books to better enhance my knowledge.”

He commented, “I would advise beginning runners to be patient and don’t do too much right away. There are a lot of different things that go into getting better and improving one’s time.”

Junior Sam Levine said, “Coach Lawrence keeps us motivated each and every day at practice and pushes us to work as hard as we can.”

David Schlichtig, a senior, stated, “I’ve been running Cross Country since freshman year. I remember it being so difficult at the beginning, but I learned to push myself and persevere through races.”

At the three mile Mens Varsity race on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Cameron Hindle, a sophomore, finished first with a time of 16:46:14, winning a few seconds ahead of second place.

At the three mile Womens Varsity race on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Senior Jordan Almony placed second with a time of 24:13:02.

When it came to getting prepared for a race and preventing injuries, Levine stated, “To prepare for races, we make sure to practice hard, running 60-70 minutes and doing workouts. To prevent injury, we make sure to take some days lighter and make sure we’re stretching and icing down when necessary.”

Coach Lawrence stated, “The first thing is making sure the runners warm-up properly with warm-up laps, static stretching, and some dynamic stretching. I work on running form because poor form can contribute to injuries. Lastly, making sure runners do a cool down run with proper stretching at the end of practice [is part of the routine].”

The Long Reach Girls and Boys Varsity team will be competing in the last meet of the season, the MPSSAA 3A East Regional XC Championship, at Centennial, HS on Thursday, November 1, 2018.