10 Things Kids Who Grew Up Running Cross Country Know
1. The smells of fall with full oxygen-depleting deep exertion breathing. Whether it was new fallen leaves, walnut shells, ragweed, or goldenrod, the complete inhalation is best experienced on the run.
2. The panic inducing stampede of a mass start at any level of cross-country is an intensely exhilarating experience. It takes tremendous courage to stand on that line with any intention of competing against so many of your peers. The first steps in any endeavor are always the hardest and so it is with racing.
3. The human warrior instincts coming alive in your pack of teammates. Excuses do not hold up with people with whom you share the rituals and traditions of training, practice, and preparation for intense competitions.
4. The pride of seeing the rewards of your months and years of persistent pursuit of a goal. With simple measuring sticks of the courses you run repeatedly, you get to watch your PR’s come down. Even though we will have to compete and compare ourselves to others, for the most part we are competing with ourselves from yesterday. The dedication and hard work over time slowly let us cover the same distance faster. When we witness betterment and growth through applied effort, we learn to apply this principle to other areas of our lives.
5. Psych-up music really works! Every team comes up with a way to prepare themselves for the battle of a hard workout or important race. On the days when there is a chance that we might “see God”, we learn to use every mental tool in the box to gain confidence. Music makes the world a much better place.
6. Anatomy lessons are free. As endurance athletes, we quickly learn every vulnerable part of our bodies. Feet, ankles, shins, knees, hips, and every muscle from the neck down are all challenged regularly by pushing ourselves beyond what we have done in the past. Our cardiovascular systems often strengthen faster than our orthopedic systems allowing parts to inflame, break, or tear. Some of us are fast healers and others not so much.
7. Teamwork is everything. On a cross-country team, the seventh team finisher means just as much in the overall score as the superstars up front. No other sport scoring emphasizes the importance of the less talented team members than ours. We often undervalue the contributions of those who would be riding the pine in other sports. Thankfully, we compete in a sport that doesn’t have a bench!
8. We all have a breaking point. No matter our fitness or skill level as a runner, there comes a point in a race or tough workout where our body is screaming “just stop, quit this painful torture”. Some days we just don’t have “it” but more often than not we push through these moments of self-doubt and ignore those little voices telling us “no”.
9. We can take ourselves too seriously. Part of the beauty of belonging to a team (or tribe, pack, or clan) is that we have others to encourage, scold, and keep us honest. In our sport, there is much laughter as after all we are just playing when you look closely at it. Serious play mind you, but play nonetheless!
10. New shoes are awesome. Who of us doesn’t grin ear to ear upon opening up the little cardboard box and sliding on that beautiful, lightweight, cushioned, speed improving pair of new shoes? They automatically make us faster.