Cross Country to me, is sacred. It is the religion of a girl who grew up without one. I worship the beauty of the woods and pray to the altar of the trail. The mud, trees and sky, are my Gods, and the rhythmic pounding of my feet upon the ground are my hymns. I fell in love with Cross Country in high school when I became a member of an amazing team. The workouts made me feel tough, and my team made me feel loved. Anyone who has run Cross Country knows the pain of the sport, but also the pure bliss that accompanies it. After eight years of running, sweating, crying, and laughing, I have learned a thing or two. Here are eight ways that Cross Country changed my life.
1. It instilled in me the value of nature
Juha Väätäinen, a former Finnish athlete, and winner of the 5,000 and 10,000-meter races at the 1971 European Championships said, “Stadiums are for spectators. Runners have nature and that is much better.”
Any cross country runner could affirm the latter part of Väätäinen’s statement.
XC runners are used to mud being spattered on their calves and occasional run-ins with wildlife. My runs have taken me through countless forests, along winding rivers, through glowing meadows during golden hour. But it’s more than just where you are.
It’s how it feels while you are there. The air you are huffing and puffing invigorates your soul and the ever changing scenery keeps you engaged. As a cross country runner, I know what if feels like to be at one with nature.
2. Made me love and appreciate mud
Mud and Cross Country go together like peanut butter and jelly—you can’t have one without the other. As a Cross Country runner I know the smell of mud. I know how it feels on the backs of my calves. I know its soothing coolness when it is wet and the way it peels off when it's dry. The mud makes me feel alive.
It makes me feel like I am a part of the nature I am running through. Mud is raw, real and just simply natural. I love initiating a new pair of running shoes with a big splash in a mud puddle. Cross Country has taught me to love the nature that surrounds me, not avoid it.
3. Showed me the true value and meaning of a team
Many people think that Cross Country is not a team sport, but it very much is. In high school my Cross Country team was very close. Every day we practiced together. We sweat together, cried together, and laughed together.
Together we grew strong and accomplished things that we didn’t even know we were capable of. Just because we weren’t passing balls to one another didn’t mean that we weren’t functioning as a team. Each runner on the team had a group to run with and as groups passed each other in workouts we’d exchange words of encouragement with each other. Racing with a team is truly an amazing experience.
I feel lucky to have experienced synergy over my racing career. Synergy in terms of running is when two people work together to get a combined greater achievement than either could have accomplished alone. In a race every member of the team is working together, none is out there alone. You are pushing and pulling each other on, and when you cross the finish line it is a collective effort. Being part of the team made me feel like I had a place that I belonged.
4. Made me part of a community
Being part of a team makes you part of a community. This sense of belonging was integral to who I was in high school. I knew that no matter what, the 20 other girls I spent hours with each day after school would have my back. On a healthy, supportive team, each person has their place. Everyone is contributing something to the collective force of the team.
These roles don't have names or descriptions, it is simply the acknowledgment that each and every team member is valued. When you become a runner you also become a member of a larger community of other runners. All across the globe people run. They always have and they always will. When I pass another runner on the road I always smile or wave because I feel a connection to them. We are two complete strangers but we have at least one thing in common, the pain and joy of running.
With the rise of the internet and social media, it is easier to feel this sense of community and to be a part of it. Scattered across the internet is a plethora of running memes, quotes, motivation and inspirational stories. There are Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts that function to connect us all as runners.
5. Taught me how to be tough both mentally and physically
It is simply incredible how much of a mental sport running is. Running a Cross Country race is brutally painful, and a runner must train herself to accept the pain and embrace the pain. Dean Karnazes said in his book "Ultramarathon Man" that “there is magic in misery. Just ask any runner.”
This magic he is talking about is the realization of what your body is capable of both physically and mentally. From the moment my foot toes the line and the gun goes off, I am not only pushing my body physically to its fullest extent, I am also working my mind.
Running and racing has taught me how to stay positive even when everything hurts. I repeat positive mantras in my mind to override the positive thoughts. I encourage myself and tell myself that I am doing a good job. Cross Country has instilled in me a mental toughness that I didn’t even know existed.
6. How to set and achieve reasonable goals
Goal setting is important in many aspects of life, including running. Every year at cross country camp my team and I would sit around a campfire and share our goals. We made individual goals, team goals, short term goals, and long term goals.
We were encouraged to pin our goals up everywhere. In our rooms, our lockers, the mirror in the bathroom. Seeing these goals every day in various places reminded us of them and kept them on the front of our minds.
In cross Country, the most important goals were never just about me, they were about the team. It felt easier to collectively work towards something than to do it alone. Even when some of the goals were not achieved, we could still recognize the value of setting them, and they kept us hungry for next season.
7. How to “pop a squat”
Every runner knows that you need to be able to use the facilities without actually using the facilities. True cross country runs take you all over the place! Through forests, along beaches, across fields and anywhere else imaginable. And you never know when nature will call, so you have to be able to do it anywhere. The official term for relieving yourself in the woods is called “pop a squat.”
Popping a squat has three important steps. First, you must find a good sheltered spot, preferably behind a big tree that can be used for support. Next, no matter how urgently you have to go, you must dig a hole. Once your hole is dug you’re all set. Popping a squat is a valuable skill that can be used in many aspects of life, not just running. With all the gifts xc has given to me, this may be the most practical.
8. Makes me feel alive
Of all the ways Cross Country has changed my life, perhaps the most important is the way it makes me feel alive. It is exhilarating to run. With the wind through your hair and the rhythmic pounding of your feet on the ground, you feel unstoppable. It’s not just the science of exercise and endorphins that make me happy when I run. It’s knowing that I am out in the world, living it, experiencing it and loving it that makes me feel alive.
