Behind the Scenes of Cross Country: Beyond the Finish Line
Summary
A glimpse into the experience of being part of the cross country team, encompassing more than just physical running.
The entire girls cross country team is crammed into a painted box only three feet wide, along with sometimes as many as 400 high school girls, with teams on either side of us spilling into our box. It’s pitch black, you can barely see the course in front of you. We sit in silent anticipation as the official counts down . . . 10 . . . 9. . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . the gun goes off. Everyone sprints forward, many don’t make it three steps without tripping over other people and falling flat on the ground, trampled by incoming runners. . .
Cross country has become my favorite sport for a number of reasons, but it’s one that non-runners usually aren’t familiar with. They assume it’s “just running,” and they focus on the negative aspects, like when my teammates and I discuss how we’re terrified of the meets because of people passing out during and after races, or runners always throwing up. After all this complaining, we’re often asked why we do it. We don’t run cross country just to run, other important aspects of it make the sport enjoyable and rewarding.
Pheasant Branch Conservancy, picture taken before one of our long runs. I used to dread coming here; every time we ran here I knew we’d put in a difficult workout of at least 7 miles. I’ve grown to love this place, not just because of how it’s made me a better runner, but also the memories I have here with my teammates and friends. Photo by: Heather Raffel
At the start of the season, the coaches often got to the track even before sunrise. Our coaches show great dedication to the sport, especially our head coach, Heather Raffel. She spends a lot of time planning practices and scheduling our training plan for the season so we can reach our full potential by the end of the year. A lot of times the goals I create for myself greatly underestimate what I can actually do, and my coach makes sure I know that. Before the Portage Invite, she told me my goal should be almost two minutes faster than what I originally wrote down. I thought she was insane, but I ended up running even faster than what she told me my goal should be, and I got my personal best at that race. Photo by: Heather Raffel
The hardest part of cross country is easily the mental toughness required to keep going when every part of our bodies wants us to stop. We’re trained for the physical running, our legs and lungs can handle it, it’s our minds that are put through the struggle. This is part of why running can be one of the most rewarding sports. The amount of people that line up at the start of each cross country meet is never the same as the amount of people that cross the finish line. It takes a lot of mental strength just to finish, but the feeling of accomplishment at the end of each race is worth it.
In this picture, I’m less than a mile from the finish at the 2024 River Valley Invitational. This race was one of the hardest for me mentally, there were many times I wanted to drop out. I wouldn’t have been able to cross the finish line without the support from my coaches, teammates, and family, who encouraged me to push through and complete the race. Photo by: Sarah Wills
Another rewarding part of cross country is the team experience. Even though everyone runs their own race, with their own goals in mind, the final team score is determined by the places of the top five runners, which strengthens the team environment even more. Every year our team grows closer as we work towards our goals and become better runners. My relationships with my teammates are even better now than they were last year, and we continue to strengthen our community by improving the team environment and helping each other. A big part of cross country is the encouragement we get from our teammates, because a lot of times they are the only ones who understand how hard it can be. We often bond over the difficult practices and the stress of the meets because it’s something we all have to overcome.
The Nightfall meet in Lake Mills created a core memory for our team for a number of reasons. Emily Berger beat the school record, and multiple friends came to support us, which is a rarity for cross country. Usually only coaches and families attend races, so it was incredibly special to have our friends there to cheer us on. Photo by: Ann Shefchik
Some of my favorite memories on the team aren’t from our regular practices, but they’re from getting to spend time with each other outside of running. These include our girls’ team sleepover, tie-dying shirts, attending team dinners, and playing volleyball. Several of my closest friends are people I’ve gotten to know in the last few cross country seasons, especially through these team bonding events.
This photo was taken during our Devil’s Lake trip this year. This trip is a great opportunity for returning and new athletes to talk and get to know each other. Photo by: Jada Wills
The bus rides to and from meets are some of my favorite parts of race day. We listen and sing along to music, look over our goals for the race, and relax and enjoy the view. All of these help to get excited for, and mentally prepare for, the upcoming race. Photo by: Jada Wills
The girls cross country team has had many successes in past years, and is working towards a bigger goal by the end of this season, and hopefully in years to come as well. Last year we fell short at Conference, getting third place as a team. We didn’t end up making it to State as a team, but we had a few runners make it individually. This year we’ve made it our main focus to have the girls’ team qualify for State, and we’re more motivated than ever.
These spray-painted smiling figures are one of many cross-country meet day traditions. They can be found throughout the course, or even at some of our practices. This figure was displayed on the course at this year’s Deforest Norski Invite. At the 2024 Deforest Norski Invite, the girls' team came in first, and our top 5 runners finished 6th place or better. A lot of people were disappointed with their individual performance, as this race is the first of the season and it’s usually one of the hottest. Even though we did good as a team, it doesn’t always reflect how we felt during and after the race. Photo by: Heather Raffel
. . . In the last mile of the race, I’m running out of energy, I don’t know my time, or if I even have a chance at beating my personal best. I see a teammate ahead of me, she’s in the top 30, and I start making my way up towards her. I see the illuminated arch above the finish line less than 200 meters ahead. The finish seems never-ending. Crowds of people on either side of me are cheering and yelling at me to go faster. I sprint through the finish line with everything I had left, seconds behind my teammate, and a few seconds shy of my personal best time. I’m exhausted, exhilarated, and about to pass out, but I’ll be ready to do it all again next week.
Comments
Post a commentWaunakee Community High School Advanced English 10 - 1B
Mrs. Swanhorst's Advanced English 10 students
Jada, this is a really engaging photo essay. I love how you used a combination of descriptive, reflective, and informative writing - the effect is quite powerful for your reader. I also appreciate your meditation on the perhaps unseen aspects of the cross country experience that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing this story!