By: Ben Aalderink
CRACK! The gun goes off. A mass of people come running from the start line. The drive and determination to be the best boils through their veins. What many don’t see on the other hand is what goes into these races the time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears! Obviously they run, but what’s the strategy behind that? Come along to find out!
I interviewed Luke Hernandez and Daniel Grabinski from the Boy’s Varsity Cross Country team at Hamilton High School. This allowed me to see what really goes on at their practices and how it translates into their races.
I gathered a ton of information from this interview. It all starts on the first day of practice. Hamilton’s Cross Country practices 5 days a week for an hour and half. No matter the weather you will catch them running through the mud, rain, wind, heat and cold. Luke says that these practices range from shorter distances (3 miles) at a fast pace or longer distances at a slower pace. This depends on how many meets they have that week and the previous week.
Next I asked them what strategies they have for running the race? These vary from runner to runner. Daniel points of emphasis are, “ don’t go out too fast, keep good form, remember to breathe.” Luke tries to, “ keep enough energy to go faster at the end… in case someone is about to pass you.” I also questioned them on how they keep a certain pace. Luke uses his watch to try and stay between a 6:15-6:20 mile pace. Daniel stays right behind Luke which also allows him to maintain a consistent pace.
Along with my interviews I also did some research online. To my surprise I did not realize that you have to deal with multiple different types of obstacles through your journey of the course. This includes sharp turns, short steep hills, long cambered sections, logs to jump, creeks to cross, and bridges to negotiate. These can all affect your end result greatly if you don’t prepare for them in practice.
At the end of the day there is a lot more that goes into cross country than just running. The strategy and drive to be the best makes it a very popular sport throughout the US.