By: Arleth Morales
Cross Country is a competitive sport of running, there are divisions (JV & Varsity).
JV (Grades 7-8th) Varsity (Grades 9-12th). I’m a runner who has been part of Cross Country since it started last year.
Who are our coaches for XC here at Collinsville?
Mr. Thrash & Ms. White who we are very lucky to have. They both teach here at Collinsville High School; they are great teachers as well as coaches. They have supported us throughout the Cross Country season and have kept us motivated for our meets.
What do we do the day before a meet?
Most of the time, we tend to have practice before the day of the meet. We get our jerseys washed and prepared for the next day. We also look at a map of the race trail and talk about the schools we’ll be competing against.
What do we do for our XC Meets?
We set up our tent at the location of our meet which is usually around 2-3 hours prior to the meet. We eat snacks and keep ourselves hydrated. All the runners stretch at least an hour before the race and stay loose. We tend to have a photographer who gets pictures of us before and during the race.
What do we do after an XC Meet?
We review our times, and think about how the race went. We get our stuff packed away and throw any garbage away. We take down the tent, take off our bib numbers and also the tracking chips, if any, we had during the race. We usually give the tracking chips back to our coaches. After everything is completely packed up, and we’re leaving the area of the race, we sometimes go out to eat after, depending on how late it is.
Finally, Cross Country had an amazing season this year. I hope this gave you some insight about what we do. If you’re thinking about signing up after this, you should definitely do it once sign-ups are on Ms. White’s and Mr. Thrash’s doors again for the 24-25 season. Let’s run it next season, future runners!