I like whichever one is next.
I like whichever one is next.
Enthusiast wrote:
I like whichever one is next.
This is the best answer. I loved both of them. I compare it to apples and bananas. Both are awesome fruits and offer a different taste. Track offers the chance to watch teammates compete and cheer them on. Yes, it is faster while I am more of a slower distance guy, but this team aspect is awesome. Cross offers a chance for the entire team to compete together and they can work together in races to help the team. Track also allows for times to be compared easily, while XC is really only about place. My track PRs can be compared over years and years, while XC PRs don't really matter because the conditions are rarely ideal for a consistent comparison. Even course records are not an exact science, since the competition/weather/surface all impact the winning time.
In the fall I love cross-country more because of the team aspect and of course the venues and weather.
In the spring and summer I like track- the middle distance events.
A lot depends on your background. If you like more structure and pacing and accuracy then you probably prefer track.
As a coach I used to prefer XC. Most everyone on the team is doing the same thing. You might have 4-6 different training groups and training plans going on depending on the levels of the kids, but that is easy to handle. Simple life.
Track is a different beast, especially if you are dealing with any technical events, lifts, etc. I've come to enjoy all the variety. Its very enjoyable.
Yeah, as a distance runner XC is much more fun simply because everyone is in the same event. We all run the same course, deal with the same issues, the heat, the rain, mud, whatever. Also you are done much sooner, where track meets last all friggin day.
I've always said that XC is English Lit. and track is math. XC is varied from week to week, some courses are hilly, or muddy, or flat n fast, maybe you are going through the woods on single track, other times you're wide open in a big field in a huge race of 300+ people. XC is all about the art of racing and what place you finish, finishing time is virtually irrelevant. All tracks are 400m and a 60 sec lap in BFE Texas is the same as 60 sec. lap in Oslo Norway. There is just one right answer. Time is of the utmost of importance.
EZ10Miler wrote:
Yeah, as a distance runner XC is much more fun simply because everyone is in the same event. We all run the same course, deal with the same issues, the heat, the rain, mud, whatever. Also you are done much sooner, where track meets last all friggin day.
I've always said that XC is English Lit. and track is math. XC is varied from week to week, some courses are hilly, or muddy, or flat n fast, maybe you are going through the woods on single track, other times you're wide open in a big field in a huge race of 300+ people. XC is all about the art of racing and what place you finish, finishing time is virtually irrelevant. All tracks are 400m and a 60 sec lap in BFE Texas is the same as 60 sec. lap in Oslo Norway. There is just one right answer. Time is of the utmost of importance.
I like that response. Thanks