What is Cross Country Running?
I recently raced at the Canadian Cross Country National Championships on Nov. 30th. I was surprised at how many people had no idea what Cross Country running was. No its not a marathon, no its not a road race, no it does not involve skis, no its not on the track and finally, yes I still race if it snows. Cross Country running takes place on any surface that is not on the road or the track. So it can be on the grass, dirt, trails, golf course, etc. Most Cross Country races are on a combination of both grass, dirt and trails.
The course is mapped out to whatever distance it needs to be- for men the race distance is usually 10-12km and for women its usually 6-8km. Most often the course is made up of “loops”. So we will run 3 X 2km loops, etc. This is good for spectators because they are able to see you more often and cheer for you! Many courses include both flat parts and hills. Some courses even put in obstacles such as hay piles for you to jump over. I raced at the World Cross Country Championships this past March in Poland and they had man-made mud piles for us to go over. It was pretty cool.
Of the 3 running disciplines- Track, Road and Cross Country- XC (short for cross country) is definitely my favourite. You never know what you’re gonna get on race day. Will it be a super hilly course? Is there gonna be mud everywhere? Do we have to jump stuff? It’s always exciting. XC running is fun- getting out there in the trails and just running hard- no worries about time or splits. Its all about just racing- which I love.
So when I found out that our XC national champs were gonna be held not only in Vancouver this year, but in my backyard- Jericho Beach, just 2 km from my house, I was so excited! Racing in front of my home crowd on a course I knew like the back of my hand. But as a hometown girl and race favorite to win, I felt a lot of pressure. I had ran my first marathon just 5 weeks before national XC. Would I be recovered enough? Did I have enough “speed” in my legs to run a 7k XC race? I was very nervous on race day and was feeling a little unprepared. Usually I train all fall for this race, but this year I focused on the marathon in Oct and therefore only really had a few weeks of actual “XC” training (intervals on the trails, grass, etc.)
My coach gave me a simple race plan- Don’t lead the race at all, just run in the front pack and kick in at the finish. I am very impatient and have a hard time just “sitting” in the back. But one of my strengths is my final kick, and knew if it came down to the final 100m, I could sprint past any girl. So the race started and it was very slow for the first 1km. But I didn’t lead at all, just chilled out in the back pack of about 10 girls- making jokes about the muddy course, and actually laughing a bit with my friend, running buddy and biggest competition- Rachel Cliff.
At about 2km, it was just 3 of us up front now- Rachel, Jessica and me. I let Rachel and Jessica lead the way through the mud and slush. At 4km, Rachel and I went down a big hill and dropped Jessica a bit. I knew this was our chance to “break her”, so I said to Rachel- “lets put in a surge and get a gap on Jessica”. Which is exactly what we did- and it worked. Going into the final 2km of the race it was just Rachel and I. She was about 5 meters ahead of me. I was feeling good, but was not sure how much I had left. Was getting worried that she was going to drop me and I wouldn’t be able to catch her at the finish. But I hung on for dear life and stayed on her heals. We came around the final wet, super muddy corner with about 200m go to and I could hear my guy teammates (they were in the next race), Kelly and Luc absolutely screaming full force at me to “GO NOW!!!!”. So I kicked it into over drive. I sprinted past Rachel and hammered it to the finish line for the win. I couldn’t believe how much I had left at the end of the race! My little legs were going so fast- it was exciting. I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face- my first XC national title! It was an amazing feeling. My friends and family were all there at the finish line. I was so happy they were there to support me and share my win with me. A group from Innovative Fitness came to cheer me on as well, including both my fabulous trainers- Michael and Mark. Thank-you so much for coming to support me on such a miserable, cold rainy day.
Cross Country running requires a great deal of strength. Uneven footing, obstacles, hills, mud and sometimes snow. The training I do at Innovative Fitness is a huge part of my training for XC. It’s not just about running all the time. I am a stronger more powerful runner because of all the strength work I do at I.F. My national title would not have been possible without all the work I’ve done at I.F. Thank-you guys:)
