Should I sit out XC season?

Get a wobble board and use it in as many different ways as you can find or think of. NOW!

I don't think you should sit the whole season because if you do you won't have learned what you need to do to prevent the ITBS from coming back. A wobble board will help but each case is different and it might not be enough for you.

The thing to remember with ITBS is that for it not to hurt the strength and flexibility of the muscles that are near the band must be in balance. You can get to that ideal by doing nothing for a long time. You can also get there by doing as many different exercises as you can think of that relate to the area but each exercise can not be done to failure nor can it be done more than once a week.

You may be able to run some with ITBS by running for say 90 seconds then taking 30 seconds off. Strides are good. Continuous running is bad.

No no no no no no no no no!!! You're lucky I stumbled on this thread because in my sophomore year track season I also had ITBS of the knee. It hurt so bad!!!! Well, anyway, I took like two months off running like 1 mile a day here or there and I realized it was a waste of time. So one day I just started running seriously again and it still hurt the same as it did months ago. But I just kept running and running and running and it eventually got better.

The only reason you have ITBS is because either your quads or hamstrings are weak. IMMEDIATELY after you strengthen them it will magically disappear.

In conclusion, I say continue running through the season BUT do strengthening exercises for your legs every other day i.e. squats, one legged squats, etc. And foam rolling the ITBS will help as well.

Trust me, you can run. I haven't felt pain in the ITB since I had the injury which was 2 years ago.

You should get a foam roller or a stick and roll out the IT band for about 30 seconds 3-4 times a day.

Yes

No just hang it up for good your gonna infect everyone around you and might contract aids.

But seriously roll it out ice and gradually work it back up if possible and if not then just recovery and get ready for a good track season with injury prevention in mind everyday

You probably don't have to sit out the season, but it will continue to hurt if you don't do anything to fix the problem. You probably have weakness in your hips and glutes. You need to do exercises to strengthen the hips and glutes. I found that doing exercises with an exercise band work great. You might need to look up some youtube videos on how to do some of the exercises. The best ones I found were clamshells, mule kicks, fire hydrants, single leg glute bridges, and side leg raises. You want to work up to 20-25 reps of each exercise on each side. Once you strengthen the hips and glutes, your pain should go away.