WGHS Cross Country Travels to Apalachee

On Saturday, August 19th, the Walnut Grove Warrior Cross Country team will travel to Apalachee High School for their first meet of the season.
​by Ane'J Beers and Drew Caraway

Cross Country at The Grove

On Saturday, August 19th, the Walnut Grove Warrior Cross Country team will travel to Apalachee High School for their first meet of the season. 

Junior Christina Casey and Senior Will Jarzen run cross country here at Walnut Grove. When asked about the favorite thing, Christina said, “Definitely the people. I feel like since our team is really little that we’re all close.” Will said a very similar statement, “Definitely the people, the running can be hard at times, but when you have good people you’re with every single day, it definitely helps.” 

After, Christina was asked why she runs cross country. She responded by stating, “I run cross country because of the people, the atmosphere. Everyone is so motivational and everyone cheers on everybody.” When Will was asked about what inspired him to run, he said, “The coach [Jason Abner] told me to do it, so I ended up going to a summer workout, and I decided to do it from there on out.” 
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Many cross country runners run to stay in shape for sports, mainly track athletes like Juniors Aubrey Barnett and Ashlyn Chafin.

Cross Country Attire

People may wonder, “What would a cross country runner wear?” It all depends on the time of year they are running. Uniforms vary between summer and fall. (via The Wired Runner and  Run and Become ).

For summer, runners should wear a breathable compression shirt, running spikes for the grassy areas and fell running shoes for the tougher-terrain areas, and moisture-wicking shorts to avoid chafing. 
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For winter, runners should wear similar shoes, but instead of shorts, they should wear compression tights or trousers. Instead of a breathable compression shirt, runners should wear a tight, long sleeve top, and a running jacket on top of it. 

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History of Cross Country

Cross country had its first international race in 1898 when England and France faced off (via Britannica). In 1962, the IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) made it official that men and women both could run cross country internationally. 

Standard distances are 7.5 miles for males and typically 1.25-3 miles for females. Unfortunately, world records are not kept track of. Teams are 6-9 athletes and each run individual courses and run team courses. 

The significant event that started cross country’s entirety was a crick run in 1837 at Rugby School in England.

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