Why am I so much better in track than cross country?

Your current times in track are pretty consistent with your 16:40.

But my teammates running high 4:40's were running around 16:20 in cross country. And keep in mind that this is for 3 miles. Not a full 5k. My 5k was 17:10

My cross country PR was 16:04 (3 miles) which put me in the top 1/3rd of most races, but I was never in the hunt to win. My track PR for the 3200 was 9:38. I was consistently in the hunt to win and won probably about 1/3rd of my 3200 races senior year.

In college my best 8k was 25:44 but I ran 14:51 for the 5k on the track. Obviously the competition is spread out over multiple distances for track whereas pretty much every "distance runner" does cross country. But still, my track races were significantly better comparatively.

I attribute this to my need for consistent measured splits over an even course (like a track). In all my years, I never felt like I "hit my stride" in an xc race, but I can think of plenty of track races from 3k to 10k where I was smooth, even paced, and buried competition who would destroy me on the fall. I could never get in the groove with the ever changing xc courses, but I could run 72-73 second quarters around a track all day.

I feel like this is similar to how I am. I pay a lot of attention to pacing and splits. That's not as much of a factor in cross country. I feel rough on the grass too. Not bad but definitely not as smooth as on the track. Did you ever fix this? Was there ever a cross country race where you did as good as you would on the track?

I guess running similar courses in training might help? In college we had zero trails to run on. Everything we did was on the road (no hills in sight), or the track, both of which probably reinforced my need for consistent footing without any big changes or rolling hills. As far as going off splits, I was in the same boat. I could feel out the pace pretty well, but I needed to hear my splits for reinforcement, just to know I was "on". I think cross country is a whole different animal because splits will be irregular if you even get any at all. You just have to be able to feel out the distance.

My non-scientific opinion is that these (track & cross country) are different skill sets. You are simply better at one than the other. Some of the skill is mental (e.g. keeping splits, thriving on consistency). Some of the skill is physical. In my mind think of it as two different types of running economy and/or strength. You lose efficiency (relative to teammates) on rapidly changing terrain and uneven surfaces of cross country. And your efficiency doesn't suffer on the track.

So why are you not as efficient off the track? Maybe it's particular muscles that aren't as well developed (i.e. weaker) or your muscles are slower to respond to the variations in terrain, which results in reducing or delaying the power/speed you're able to generate with those muscles (i.e. less torque)?

Just some ideas. I'm not a physiology guy. Just my way of looking at the problem.

Because you are truly an athlete.

Most cross country competitors use cross country to hide because there is so many runners and you can get lost in the crowd. Track and field is different as the spotlight is on you during track meets... you can't hide from people watching you get your butt kicked.

You might want to do more mileage on varied terrain this summer, with more hill speed and longer hill intervals, as well as tempos on grass and xc courses by feel. Continue that work in the fall with more fast work on the courses and you will improve significantly at it. Practice what you will have to do in the race.

Basically right. The physical issue, though, isn't so much undeveloped muscles as it is higher efficiency. Runners that get a lot of elastic recoil out of their legs do better on the track. Soft ground doesn't give you as much back. That said, the physical differences are rarely huge, so a lot of it is probably mental. You can't zone out in XC and just ride someone's shoulder. The changing terrain means you have to keep reminding yourself to make it hurt.

zxcvzxcvcx wrote:

You might want to do more mileage on varied terrain this summer, with more hill speed and longer hill intervals, as well as tempos on grass and xc courses by feel. Continue that work in the fall with more fast work on the courses and you will improve significantly at it. Practice what you will have to do in the race.

I already try to incorporate different running surfaces and terrain into my easy runs. So are you saying that I should do the same thing but do it during tempos as well? My team doesn't do a lot of hill repeats, should we start doing those more often?

So I should be close to redlining while racing the whole time? I've always been told to keep it relaxed in the beginning. Should I be getting uncomfortable sooner? I do think I have good track efficiency. My form feels like I get a good energy return from it and I can coast easier. Not so much in cross country

Basically if you get out through the mile or so in a somewhat reasonable spot in an XC race, you should ALWAYS be trying to move up to the next guy and make the pass. If you're stagnant in the field, you're slowing down. That was really the revelation that made me better at XC from a mental standpoint (and a very solid summer of training didn't hurt either).

I'm the opposite of you. The less like a track the XC course is, the better I am. I'm not smart enough to know why, but I can describe the differences in how it feels. In XC, I can redline earlier and longer. Downhills offer me chances to rest. Hills hurt, but I can push them because they use different muscles, and once I'm running downhill or flat, I can continue to push without fatiguing too quick. My strength on 8k/10k courses is the middle miles. I can work those hard and have enough for a painful but fast last mile.

When I'm on the track, I feel the pain earlier and I have a harder time pushing the late-middle portions of the race. I don't have enough speed to outkick true track guys, so I get roasted often over the last lap. I'm hyper-aware of how much race is left. There's no opportunity to gather myself on a downhill. I love running faster paces, but I'm truly suited for long-distance.

Part of this may be that I've always trained on hilly terrain. I grew up on hills. I moved to a college with lots of hills. And physiologically and psychologically, I seem to have preferences to longer distance and varied terrain.

You may be more of a track guy. But then you are very young, it's possible you haven't found your true strengths yet.