The air was sharp with coldness as the runners approached the starting line, ready for the race. Moments later, the gun cracked and the course erupted into a blur of elbows, mud, and adrenaline. 

Cross country is a fall sport where athletes race long distances over natural terrain such as grass, dirt paths, hills, and trails. Unlike track, which takes place on a smooth oval, cross country courses change from meet to meet, testing the runners’ adaptability. The sport demands a rare mix of endurance, mental toughness, and, most importantly, discipline. Eliud Kipchoge, the marathon-time world record holder, once said that “only the disciplined ones in life are free.” In cross country, that discipline is the consistent choice to train your endurance and mental toughness to achieve your goals.

Team captain Leo Cossey, a senior at Museum who has ran cross country since he was a freshman, agrees that discipline and consistency are the most important things for cross country. “It’s definitely a lot of hard-work, but it feels super rewarding, feeling some satisfaction after a lot of mental toughness,” Cossey said.

Jaidev Nesse, a junior at Museum who has also been running since he was a freshman, agreed that the training process is challenging. “Everyone thinks it is very tough, even my family who are also runners believe that long-distance running is tough,” Nesse said. “But they know that running definitely takes determination, and we all enjoyed it.” 

In cross country, you aren’t just running alone; it is a team sport. Team scores are based on the finishing positions of all the runners in the team, and motivation between teammates can encourage each other to run faster and further. 

When asked about the team spirit, Mei Shibata, a junior who started cross country this year, praised the camaraderie of the team. “[The team feels] more like a tight-knit community where everyone is actually in support of everyone,” said Shibata, crediting this team atmosphere with the team’s success and improvement as a whole. 

“One minute on stage takes ten years of practice off stage,” Nesse said, citing an old Chinese proverb. Cross country takes a sizeable amount of hard work, determination, discipline, and teamwork. However, the rewards of a new personal best or a good finish in a race make it all worth it.