A Parent’s Guide to Cross Country

What is Cross Country?

· Long distance running; a team sport.

· Not held on a fixed track like athletics, AKA track and field.

· Athletes usually race across open terrain; golf courses, steeplechase courses; most often through a combination of woods, fields and always a hill or two, or three, etc.

· Course distances and terrains differ for each race.

· There are no national or world or Olympic records for this sport.

What Distances are normally run?

· The National Federation of High School Associations has set a minimum distance of 2.5K and a maximum of 5K for cross country races, not to be confused with training distances that can be greater.

· Most of Brookwood’s races will be 5Ks, or 3.1 miles.

Scoring

· Cross country scoring is different from most sports, that is, the lowest score wins.

· A cross country team usually consists of seven athletes. As each athlete finished the race, he/she is given a place card while in the chutes. This card is given to the coaches as soon as possible after the race, to be turned in to the judges.

· The places of the first five athletes for each team are added together to determine the team score. In the event of a tie, the team with a higher-finishing 6^th place runner is the winner.

· It is important for the team to run as close together as possible. For example, a finish of 1, 3, 4, 6 and 83, a score of 97, will lose to a team finishing 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, with a score of 96.

Training

· Practice sessions are scheduled at school after dismissal from classes. Check the schedule provided for specific details.

· Practice runs are comprised of conditioning drills and runs of different distances through school neighborhoods.

· Training is always supervised by the Cross Country Coaching Staff, assisted by upper classmen.

· If an athlete has not been training on a regular basis, he will probably experience muscle soreness and various aches and pains. Feel free to discuss these cases with the coach. His experience is invaluable in addressing these problems and your concerns.

Nutrition

· There are two main things to remember, WATER, lots of it, and foods, which are EASY to digest, primarily carbohydrates. Experienced athletes often speak of carbo-loading prior to a race, with foods such as pasta, rice, pancakes, etc.

Cross Country Meets

· Cross country meets are normally scheduled after school and on Saturday mornings. Meets may last a few hours or all day, depending on the organization and number of entries. Please check the schedule that will be provided for specific meet locations and times.

· Races are often divided by age group or divisions:
V Boys – Varsity Boys – Top 7
V Girls – Varsity Girls – Top 7
JV Boys – Junior Varsity Boys – Unlimited
JV Girls – Junior Varsity Girls – Unlimited

9^th Grade Boys – 9^th grade Boys – Unlimited

9^th Grade Girls – 9^th grade Girls - Unlimited

· Transportation to and from meets will be provided in most instances.

· Cross Country is not the typical spectator sport, because you cannot see the entire race from one location. Spend a few minutes prior to the start of the race to pick your “spot,” and remember: cheering for Brookwood is required!