I currently run XC and track at UCSC, take a heavy course load and work. If you’re going to try to practice, take classes and work somewhere off campus as a first year it’s going to be tough since the location of the school makes it a trek to travel any where. From my experience, I would say if you’re not fully invested in it now you may not last a full 4 years of training fueled by just one poor XC season. You definitely have to enjoy training or have more long term goals if you want to be a successful student athlete. I can also tell you that the program has gotten much, much more competitive over the last few years so the standard for making the team is also higher. As a D3 school academics are the priority but that doesn’t mean athletics always take the back seat; there are a lot of commitments outside of just regular practice hours that the coaches expect you to uphold. If you are really into it though it’s a great program and we are expecting to become very successful in the next few years, especially in XC.