Everything’s Running Great for Cross Country

Christopher Fisher, Staff Reporter

As school began, so the did cross country season. “We’ve been doing meets since literally the first week of school every Saturday” Rachel Sherman (9) explains. The cross country pre-season took place during the summer, to strengthen and prepare our team’s legs for the upcoming races. Runners wake up early every morning and put in both hours and miles to surpass their limits every race. 

“We wake up at three in the morning to get there. And it was very humid, so everyone was dehydrated, it wasn’t fun,” said Bryce Davis (9) about the Corpus Christi meet, the most difficult race of the season for him.

The conditions for races can be quite grueling. “It was really muddy and gross. And there were portions of it where we were running in water up to our ankles.” Sherman said. “So it was definitely a rough race. But we had a lot of fun.”  

Even with difficult courses, the runners can say with great confidence that they’re team is doing extremely well. “I’ve seen so much improvement in our JV, it’s really amazing. Our varsity has had kind of a standstill, with some steady improvement. But JV, they’ve been improving like crazy, both the boys and girls.” Sherman said. 

The runners undergo distance, speed, and hill work to train their legs for any condition the courses have to offer. “Eat healthy and run a lot. It’s just however you want to get prepared. You know, just don’t put trash in your body,” Davis said about preparing for a meet. On Friday, the day before their race, they take the day off to rest. On this day Coach Mackey likes to encourage them to keep their heads up.

The sport isn’t just about running, but also about the familial bond a cross country team can share. “Everyone wishes me to just work hard, yelling at me in the meets, or joking around during practice,” Sherman said.

Our runners are quite exceptional. They are performing well this season with amazing, satisfactory results. The season isn’t over yet and we can expect even greater things to come. With more training and encouragement from one another, they’re bound for success.