It’s Thursday, and for cross-country team members, that means they woke up at 6:00 a.m. and started practice at 6:30 a.m.
Like other sports teams, the runners practices together 5-6 times a week while in season. Cross-country runners are in season or training about 90 percent of the year, which makes for an intense schedule, but one that unifies the team.
“It’s just easiest to hangout with fellow runners. They just get it. All my other friends are just starting their homework at 10 when I am heading to bed,” senior Rachel Warner said.
Training for the fall cross-country season starts in June. After cross-country ends in December, the athletes have a couple weeks off before indoor track. Following indoor, they move right into the outdoor season. The last couple weeks in May allow the runners to recover in order to gear up again.
“It’s difficult sometimes because we never get a break. It seems like I’m always running,” senior Kevin Frost said. “It’s tough, but I couldn’t imagine Hillsdale without it.”
The pressure placed on a cross-country runner to perform well is different from other team sports. Cross-country is team-oriented but at the same time, success is determined solely by individual performance.
Running is a whole-body experience. If all the important elements are not balanced, like water, protein, sleep, vitamins, and reduced stress, runners won’t perform well and the team will not succeed, head coach Joe Lynn said.
“[Runners] need to find a balance for everything. Running, academics, social, faith all need to be in order,” he said.
Sophomore Luke Daigneault said that Lynn thinks they need to be eating iron-rich foods that are closest to their natural state.
“Some of us feel guilty when we eat three Oreo cookies,” Warner said.
Junior Alex Eaton sums up his diet: “Mostly I eat healthy. Whatever and whenever I want. I mean, not to the point of getting fat. It’s mostly about developing a healthy lifestyle.”
On top of running a weekly average of 45 miles for the ladies and 75 miles for the men, Coaches Towne and Lynn require their athletes to spend time outside of practice cross training. The team spends a few hours a week in the pool, on the elliptical machines, and stationary bikes.
“Coach Lynn is big into pool workouts. However, we can’t just look at our cross-training workouts as a break from running. We still need to approach it with the same work ethic as our normal practices,” senior John Wierenga said.
The runners need constant support from their team as they participate in what seems like a never-ending season.
