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Imagine if NFL teams played their entire regular season on a 100-yard field, only to switch to a 120-yard field for the playoffs and the Super Bowl. Or if NCAA men’s basketball teams were to play with a size seven basketball all season long, but switched to a size eight basketball for March Madness. What if the 4×400-meter relay became the 4×500-meter relay on the Olympic stage?  

That is the spirit of the NCAA when it comes to men’s cross-country championship races.  

All season, NCAA men’s cross-country athletes compete in one standard race: the 8K. As soon as the NCAA championship season begins, the race distance suddenly shifts, and runners must transition into racing a 10K. If football, basketball, and track made a change like this, fans and athletes would be in an uproar — so why is it acceptable for cross-country athletes to endure this monumental shift when stakes are at their highest? The NCAA should align its regular season race distance with its championship season race distance. That distance should be the 8K, not the 10K: a less taxing length that won’t limit an athlete’s racing opportunities.

To be fair, there is tradition behind the 10K at nationals. Participants competing in the NCAA men’s cross country championships have raced this distance for decades. It’s seen as a test of true endurance, a race in which legends are born and distance dominance is proven. But while the 10K may carry historical meaning, tradition alone doesn’t justify a system that complicates competition for today’s runners.  

The shift from the 8K to 10K disrupts months of hard work and carefully orchestrated training, forcing coaches to decide between training their athletes specifically for the 8K or the 10K. This balancing act could make or break their team’s postseason.  

The change in distance also forces teams to make strategic choices. Teams race the 8K from the first meet of the season through their conference championships, which often are a focus for powerhouse programs. The shift into 10K racing is a 25% increase in race distance, and while this change may seem small on paper, it has huge implications for training. The human body cannot adjust to an extra two kilometers of racing overnight. It takes weeks, even months, for runners to improve aerobically and increase their weekly mileage. This means teams with national ambitions must start preparing well before their conference championship even occurs, sometimes sacrificing peak 8K performance to lay the groundwork for success in the 10K. Teams must choose either to chase the glory of a conference title or to peak in November with hopes of punching their ticket to the national meet.  

This fragments the sport. As teams race with different goals for success, this shift also distorts season-long rankings. A team that appears dominant in September may fade in 10K racing, while a lower-ranked program may suddenly emerge once the longer racing distance favors their style of training. Skewed rankings also affect which teams have the opportunity to compete at a national championship, since the season-long rankings play a crucial role in qualifying for the NCAA cross country championship.

In Division II, for example, the top 24 teams automatically qualify by placing in the top three at their respective regional meets. The remaining ten spots are filled with at-large bids, which are selected by an NCAA-sanctioned committee. The committee looks at season-long performance to determine which teams have made the strongest case for themselves for an at-large bid.  

For younger athletes especially, the transition from racing the 5K in high school to the 8K in their collegiate career is already a challenge. Freshmen are still adapting to the demands of collegiate racing, and this bump in mileage can be a recipe for burnout, injury, or underperformance. Historically, Hillsdale’s roster for the NCAA championship meets generally consist of returning athletes because their bodies have had more time to become conditioned to racing at a longer distance.

Meanwhile, NCAA women’s cross-country athletes race a 6K all season long, including during their championship season. Their distance remains consistent from start to finish, allowing for intentional training, accurate rankings, and fair evaluations of performance throughout the entire season.  

The NCAA should keep the race distance for men’s cross-country at the 8K distance all season long, following in the footsteps of the women’s sport. Doing so would provide a much more manageable system for all teams, allowing dedicated runners to shine.  

Anna Roberts is a senior studying sport management. She serves as the captain of the women’s cross-country team.