To me, as well as to many others, cross country offers a place to push and prove one’s self, to truly compete with others. It allows me to surpass myself, to unlock an unknown strength. But more, much more than this, it builds a lifelong community. Here’s why you should join cross country.
Cross country is among the simplest of sports. Runners line up at the starting line, and the fastest to run the course wins. But this simplicity allows for objective and fierce competitiveness.
Your times and placements become benchmarks for performance, the mark to beat for your next race. In this way, cross country allows you to compete with yourself, which makes it all the more fulfilling to see improvement.
At the beginning of my first season, like many others before me, I never thought I could run the many miles demanded by our practices. The task seemed daunting. Yet, slowly, little by little, I worked my way up in mileage until I could handle just about anything.
Cross country has a way of shattering your expectations of yourself. It’s tough. It gets you out of your comfort zone. But once you get through the first few miles, the first few weeks, the first few races, all of a sudden, the prospect of running six miles won’t seem scary anymore.
It cannot be understated the joy of racing, of overtaking people, overcoming yourself, crossing the finish line of a race that’s been the culmination of months of training. It may be scary at first, but all that fear will melt away when the race starts. It may hurt, it may be uncomfortable, but that pain will make it all the more worthwhile.
The cross country community is tight-knit, united through their shared pain and experience. There is a mutual respect at the start line, a tacit understanding that the people standing beside you willingly signed up to run today. It’s a great community.
More than any other sport, cross country can be a lifelong pursuit. There are community 5ks, 10ks, and half marathons at all levels of competition. Additionally, the cardiovascular fitness from running promotes longevity.
If there’s anything to take away from this, it’s that cross country is a worthwhile sport that you should at least try out.
