Run for Fun

“Cross country is fun!” said the enthusiastic Nikki Muench.

“It’s hella fun, you should join,” said the ultra-hyped Keegan Richerson.

“I love running 10 miles as fast as I can, sweating my brains out, and collapsing on the floor… as a warm up.”

Ok, no one actually said that last quote. But cross country can be quite a grueling existence; often times the whole point of a practice is to run as hard as you can without dying. 

During one workout, one of the coaches, Steve Craft said, “You should start out fast, and run until you feel like there is no air left in the world… then start up the hill.”

What is fun about that? Maybe the fun is deeper than it seems at face value. Maybe it is below the surface. Well, what is it? Is it the races? The people? The challenge?

“I love the competitions,” said Varsity runner Jackie Quinn, a junior. Maybe the tough practices are there just to train for the meets and maybe the race is where all the fun is.

But when asked whether he would still enjoy cross country if there were no meets, team member E.O. Holtzman said, “Of course I would, cross country is a blast.”

Most of the team members had a similar view. While competition is widely acknowledged as a type of fun, one meet a week could hardly be enough compensation for practicing hard the rest of the days. So what’s the secret?

Junior Mandy Chan said, “It’s all about hanging out with the people.” Once again, a perfectly reasonable explanation.

But that can’t be all of it, because people often run by themselves during the workouts, or in small groups, like senior Kevin Shea, who leads every run. Is he the team loser? Of course not; he’s the unofficial captain and even a role model.

Besides, why would you want to chill with friends all sweaty and tired, when you could just go relax, stuff yourselves, and laze around?

Therefore, the fun must be the good feelings you get when you are in good shape, and the challenge of pushing yourself to your limits. Senior Albert Treat said, “You push ‘til your limits, and see how strong your will is.”

And the progress is amazing. The practices are tough. When you step back and feel your new-found endurance, and what new muscles and tone you have built, you feel really good about yourself. If you’ve got extra weight, you are probably guaranteed to lose some and everyone on the team can proclaim themselves stronger and more fit at the end of the season. 

All this dedication is paying off. At press time, the team had just pulled off four division (Boys and Girls, JV and Varsity) sweeps against Berkeley, Saint Elizabeth, and Holy Names in one week, and against Saint Patrick/Saint Vincent and Salesian the next week. The outlook is good for the both the BSAL and the Invitational season, and the team is looking forward to it.

2 Responses

1. 12:59 PM on October 25th, 2006Big Jack:

   oh yeah got 2 run hard everyday

2. 10:02 PM on May 26th, 2007...:

   XC is the BEST! you feel great after the workouts and when you cross the finish line…its pure bliss (kinda…)…

Leave a Comment

All comments are moderated. If your comment contains profanity or libelous content, please don't waste our time.

Name: Some basic HTML allowed

Your comment will be posted when it is approved.