How to prep for cross country

[Anonymous]

My soccer playing 8th grader thinks he might like to try cross country in HS since he’s not likely to make the very competitive soccer team at his HS. What can he do to train and prepare? We know nothing about distance running. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

He can join a local cross country team in the fall and get race practice with them. In the spring he should then look into a track & field team to work on his speed.

[Anonymous]

Sign up for Runkeeper or similar over the summer and train for a 5k with the app. XC is a great sport - good luck!

[Anonymous]

What kind of times should he be aiming for?

[Anonymous]

He’ll be a freshman - he’s going on JV and he will work his way up. If he can run 3.1 miles without stopping, he’s ahead of most of the other freshmen.

[Anonymous]

Cross country times are not as comparable the way track times are because each course is unique in terms of the terrain and elevation gains/losses. I would start by having your child just work his way up in distance. Start with a steady 400. Then do 800 and so forth until he can do a few miles straight without stopping. Start with the endurance part. You can focus on speed later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of times should he be aiming for?

At our school varsity cutoff is somewhere under 20min. JV freshmen at the start of the season, I have seen up to 30 min 5k but it comes down fast as they’re running every day. Youth is wonderful!