On the other hand, it was also a huge disappointment when a student with supreme running talent did not have the will power to take his or her talent to the next level. All too often, the runners with the most natural ability refused to train hard, while the runners with little talent ran seven days per week and gave everything they had. This always seemed so unfair to me – why couldn’t the hard worker have the gift of natural running ability?

During my coaching days, I would happily take seven guys on a cross country team who had no talent, but liked to work hard, over seven guys who had tons of talent but no work ethic. The talented guys might win more meets, but the frustration caused by their wasted ability would drive me crazy.

In my opinion, high school runners – and all runners for that matter – can be broken into two groups. The members of one group only go to practice and runs because their parents told them to go. They run races not for themselves, but so that their coaches and parents won’t get mad at them. This group has no running goals besides the desire to be somewhere else.

The members of the other group go to practice because they want to be there. They run races for themselves in order to achieve their own personal sense of accomplishment. No one has to tell them to run on the weekends or during the summer – in fact, they often must be told to take it easy. They have specific time and place goals and are driven to achieve them.

Unfortunately, in my experience, members of the first group are much more prevalent than members of the second group. With that said, when a team has a few members of the second group, their attitude can rub off on other members of the team and create a great atmosphere. I don’t coach anymore, but my observations of different running attitudes has really stuck with me. My takeaway is this: successful runners run for their own personal fulfillment – not so that they can impress other people. If you run only for external reasons there is no way that you will be running for very long.

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The cross country season has started for thousands of high school students. Best of luck to everyone. Here is some advice from someone who has run a few seasons of cross country in his lifetime:

1. Work hard. This one is obvious, but it is the only way to be any good. Really push yourself during every workout. Treat the last interval like it is the last few meters of a race. Try to run each interval better than the last one. Do not run all out the first one and fail to finish workouts!

2. Run at least once during the weekend. You are not going to race to your potential if you take both Saturday and Sunday off. Run at least once (preferably twice) over the weekend to make sure that you are getting enough mileage.

3. Take a day off. Do not be afraid to take a day or two off if you are feeling a lot of pain. One of my favorite quotes is from Colorado coach, Mark Wetmore: “You need to have the courage to take a day off.” Trust your training and know that not running for a few days will not hurt you…it’s certainly better than missing weeks with a serious injury.

4. Take the season seriously. The cross country season is more than getting in shape and hanging out with friends…it can be a means to get a college scholarship. Obviously, not everyone has the talent to draw interest from college coaches, but how will you know unless you really try to be the best that you can be?

5. Keep a log. One great way to stay motivated is to keep a training log. There is nothing worse than having to mark “0 miles” for a day. A log will also allow you to chart errors in your past training that will help you prevent future injuries. Use the Runner’s Resource running log program as a way to keep track of your running online.

6. Have fun. High school cross country is a great experience. You will make memories that will last a lifetime. Have fun and enjoy!

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