No one knows what a cross-country meet morning is like unless you run cross country. So, for all of the non-runners out there, let me take you through a standard day in the life of a cross-country runner on race day.
5:00 a.m.: You wake up to the sound of an alarm and know that even though you aren’t on the starting line yet, the race has already begun. There are two directions you can take the morning of a meet.
Option 1: You wake up, grab a banana and some peanut butter, stretch like you’re in a Nike commercial, and hop on the bus feeling like the elite athlete you are.
Option 2: You oversleep, sprint out the door still half-asleep, speed down the road trying not to miss the bus, and eat nothing but a single stale granola bar you found at the bottom of your backpack by your spikes.
6:30 a.m.: By this time, you are usually on the bus, about to pull into the place you will inhabit for the next five hours. Yes, you heard that right, five hours. You may be asking the question, “Wait, I thought the running part took less than an hour?” And while that statement is true, there is a lot more involved than just the running part.
7:00 a.m.: Not a lot of time has passed, but many activities have happened. You are sitting under the tent that you helped set up and are rolling out your already sore calves. You are contemplating if you should drink more water and risk having a side stitch or just be thirsty.
7:30 a.m.:. At this point in the morning, your race is probably soon. They usually have the races super early because the humidity is insanely high in Georgia. So the sooner you run, the better the weather is. This is the time when you are debating if you should use the bathroom for the third time or just wait until after your race.
8:00 a.m.: Now is the time when you line up on the starting line. Your nerves are at an all-time high, and you think you are going to pass out before the race even begins. You do your final quad stretches and then pray, hoping that maybe this will be the race where you PR.
8:05 a.m.: This is the time when you go from chaos and noise to pure silence as every runner, coach, and parent goes still as they await the gun to go off. Then you hear, “Runners, on your mark, get set, BOOM.” You start sprinting to the trailhead head, ready to accomplish your 5k.
8:20 a.m.: You are 15 minutes into your race. The fastest people are about to finish, but you still have a mile left. This is the time when you lock in and endure the pain. You are capable of doing this.
8:30 a.m.: The final stretch is ahead of you. You see the aid station beyond and wonder if you are gonna pass out after the sprint. But, you hold on and sprint your heart out.
8:35 a.m.: After you cross the finish line and turn off your Garmin watch, you lay on the ground and feel the sting in your muscles. All of your friends at home are still asleep, but you have already run three miles.
8:45 a.m.: You cheer on your other teammates as they finish their race and go to the Strava app on your phone. You did all of that work for one thing: the Strava kudos that every cross-country kid loves.
11:00 a.m.: You have finished cleaning up and cheering on your team. Now it is time to sleep on the bus and dream about the next race you get to run.
