It would be hard to explain the many little traditions that go along with Cross Country meets to someone unfamiliar with the sport. Those who have had the pleasure of racing or attending a race will understand these unique realities.

1. Walking the course took forever. There was no time to waste when you got off the bus because you had to walk the three-mile course before you got warmed up to run it. Sometimes the host team would walk it with you, other times they gave you a map and hoped for the best.

2. Someone got lost. Regardless of having just walked the course, someone would get lost during the race. This was a hard mistake to recover from. It usually resulted in running must longer or much shorter than the actual distance of the race. Either way, you likely got disqualified.

3. Everyone chanted on the start line. Every team had a little song or chant that they would do before the start. In the middle of strides before the race took off, your team would huddle up, your captains gave a few words of motivation and then on three you would chant your school mascot or some other clever variation. Nothing got you more pumped up to race than this.

4. The starting line was cut throat. It was essentially a stampede of people shoving each other a little as they ran, and praying they didn’t trip. If you didn’t get a good start you knew you’d be elbowed and shoved for a few hundred meters as you settled in to the race. Although, there was a chance you could still be elbowed even if you were in a good spot.

5. They named the hills. You knew the course was going to be hard if there was a hill with its own name. It was always something intimidating like Suicide Hill, Cardiac Hill, Poop Out Hill, etc.

6. The weather changed. When the season first began it was 100 degrees and humid but by the time championship meets came around it was snowing when you raced. While it was beautiful to get to run in the woods as the trees transitioned into fall colors, the progression from scorching hot, to just right, into freezing cold was not always pleasant.

7. Some courses were just loops around fields. Not every place that you raced had trails that were ideal for Cross Country races. There were usually a few courses that followed the perimeter of various fields and paths on campus because those were the only places available. It was awkward to be so out in the open, usually running your race around the soccer teams practice.

8. It wasn’t a spectator sport. If there were any fans, they were all crammed around the starting and finish lines because everywhere else was too far to get to.

9. Pacing did not exist. People would sprint in the areas where spectators could see them and then walk in the woods, until sprinting again at the finish line. It wasn’t until later years that you found it possible to run for the whole duration of a race.

10. You got really good at snot rockets. It was a proud day when you mastered this skill. There were times when you had to remind yourself that it’s only socially acceptable to do when running.

11. The uniforms were awkward. You weren’t quite sure if they were made for boys or girls. They had probably been at the school for longer than many of the teachers. There was a strong chance that the person that had the uniform before you didn’t wash it before turning it back in.

12. Butt huggers vs. Shorts. Girls who didn’t wear butt huggers thought it was horrifying when girls from other teams did. The schools that did have them thought nothing of it.

13. The guys' team got Mohawks. At the end of the season, as a sort of passageway into the championship race, the boys would collaborate on some ridiculous haircut that they would all get together.

14. Being covered in mud by the end of a race. If you were covered in mud by the end of the race you felt super accomplished. It seemed like no matter what the conditions were, the course was always muddy. The coolest way to show that you worked hard and ran fast was by having your whole lower half be covered in mud splatter.

15. The finish line was so far away. The straightaway at the end of a race made it so that you could see the finish line but it took forever to get there. Usually there was a clock lined up with the finish, ticking away the seconds that would make or break you getting a personal record.

16. You always kicked at the end. No matter how hard the race, you always sprinted in to the finish line. You had to make sure to give it one final effort and out kick a few people.