Most of the fall season sports are almost over and so is cross country. Cross country starts at the end of August and is finished at the end of October, so it lasts roughly two months.
The McPherson High School cross country team is composed of ten boys and ten girls. Seven of them are Varsity runners and the other three are JV runners.
They practice everyday anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. When it’s too hot in the afternoon, they practice in the morning so the temperature is more comfortable.
Once a week they have a competition, called a meet, so during the season they have eight or nine meets.
According to Micaiah Stevenson, one of the Varsity runners, the best part of this sport is the bonds that you have with other runners. But his least favorite part of cross country is running because sometimes it is very hard to keep going.
Reesa Worthon, another runner stated, “I like the people who do it and how it makes you have a good mindset. It’s tough when you get started at first because it’s a lot of running and it’s the part I like least”.
Most of the people think that cross country is just running, but according to Stevenson they are right. But all of these people underestimate how much work and how hard it is to compete and do well in this sport, so cross country may not just be running.
Another very important part of being a cross country runner is having a strong mindset and dedication to always keep going. It will be hard sometimes but it’s important not to give up and keep going, despite all the difficulties.
Worthon said, “I think cross country is a lot of running but the people in it make it a lot better”. So the team is very important and supportive. These runners have to run long distances and having someone on the side cheering them on is such an important part of this sport.
