Preparing for a Cross Country Championship

Preparing for a Cross Country Championship

In light of the championship season in Cross Country I thought I would address the strategies and preparation a runner goes through as they prepare for the post season. Whether you are in high school or a college athlete each runner has the same thing in common the last three meets of the year are always the most important and are emphasized the most. At this time the work has already been done and runners can’t get any fitter, it is strictly about who is healthiest, most rested, and best prepared at the time of the race.

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Months of Preparations

Some high school and most college runners have been training since the start of June. They have had several benchmark runs between here and now and their preparation and hard work is about to pay off. Behind these months of running are the little things that spectators never think about hydration, nutrition, and sleep. With the championship season being so late in your season you must take care of these key ingredients in order to achieve the result you want, some individuals will be sidelined by injury or have a performance altering injury because they didn't take care of business in the months prior to this day.  

Race Day

Finally, the time has come and it is race day. These final three meets have so much emphasis put on them but they should not be there to intimidate you and alter your performance. Conference and District Championships are made to show the true competitor inside each individual. Runners should do the exact same prerace and race day routine as they have done all season, nothing different because it is just a bigger meet that is how nerves are crept in and and negative performances happen. The most important thing to remember is just relax and calm yourself and just see this meet as something you have done several times before. Nothing enjoyable comes out of anything if you over stress and panic about the task at hand.

Tips for Race Day

1. Capitalize on your strengths
2. Surge on every turn to attain great position on the coarse
3. Don’t worry about pace, worry about EFFORT
4. Don’t give up before the race is over
5. Challenge yourself!!

Work Sited:

1. "Tips For Cross-Country Training And Racing - Competitor.com." Competitorcom. 16 July 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
2. "Cross-Country Specific Training Tips." Runner's World. 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.