Yeah I want to add some points here.
So first off, Xc and track are some of the highest participated sports in the US. That’s indisputable.
But the issue is the fact that it’s “participation”. Let’s face it. Running is not a “cool” sport. Think of your average high school XC runner and you probably think of a scrawny, nerdy, socially awkward white kid. That’s an issue. Think of the average basketball player and you think of a tall athletic kid who gets plenty of attention from girls and the local news stations.
The reason why XC and track are so highly participated in is because they are no cut sports. A lot of kids join because they have nothing else to do, their parents make them, or they got cut from other sports. Same with track. The highest amount of kids on my high school team in one year was around 120 on the boys team alone. I’d say around 20-30 of those kids were really willing to put in the work and loved the sport because of competition and their passion for running, not just the “team community”. Obviously that example is anecdotal, but I would say that holds true for many schools. Likewise in track you get a small percentage, maybe 25-30% at most, that really care.
The large percentage of people not caring just makes the sport look worse and builds the perception that competitive running is for lame people.
So how do you make running cool?
1. You need to get people who win. In my large team, we had an extremely successful group of kids, multiple time state champions, a couple podium finishes. Winning is cool. People who win are cool. All of us went to parties, were decently popular, and had a great high school experience. Part of this is because of who we are already friends with, but that gets back to the point of the XC teams attracting lame people with not a lot of friends.
2. You get attention/funding from the school district and parents. How many times have we heard the trope that the football team gets all the money and the XC team doesn’t get any. This leaves teams going to local meets only, not having enough uniforms or old uniforms, and less resources like assistant coaches for the team. All this support will help get kids more interacted and engaged.
3. Recruit kids from other sports. Soccer players, basketball players, wrestlers, volleyball etc can all run. The diversity will help make the teams influence more wide spread in the school.
These are just some examples. But the main point is MAKE RUNNING COOL