by Cassie Florido

Before we get started, if you read my last blog you probably saw my little note at the end. Well, guess what…the Chiefs won. Yeah I didn’t expect it either (obviously). But I’m convinced that either you guys said a lot of prayers for the Chiefs or they personally read my blog and decided to win just for me. I’m 100% positive they read it.

And yes, if you’re wondering, that is me hopping around campus on crutches. Just a word of advice, don’t jump off benches in the locker room. You will land on a volleyball bag and sprain your ankle. You have been warned.

Anyway, this week I’m going to talk about cross country. XC, a sport that you have to be half crazy to do. I have no idea how cross country girls survive everyday. This is what they call “fun.” If I had to run a couple of miles every day, I’d probably pass out 99.9% of the time. So, props to all you XC runners.

It seems like these girls are always running. When they run on the track, they circle it probably one hundred times. No joke. I get tired just watching them run. Also, the thought of running Ward Parkway and not driving down it in the luxury of my car makes me want to barf. I can’t help but giggle every time I see the exhausted runners gathering around the water cooler on Ward Parkway like it is a Waldo Pizza delivery. They flock to that thing. I know I would be crawling to that cooler if I ran as much as they did.

I know that athletes have to be in shape for every sport, but the kind of shape cross country runners need to be in takes it to the next level.

Everyday the cross country runners get asked, “How much did you run today.” The runner responds, “Oh, only 3 miles, nbd.” WHATTT? That kind of is a big deal. As a volleyball player, I cringe at the thought of possibly having to run a couple of suicides. You could compare my opinion of running to the NFL replacement refs – just straight up awful.

On Mondays the team runs 5-8 miles. That’s insane. Seriously, how do your legs not fall off? For the rest of the week the team tones it down a bit and only runs about three miles of hills on Tuesdays, four miles on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and an “easy” 2-3 miles on Friday. Takin’ it easy…yeah right. Don’t even get me started on the hills. I will pass on those. I would probably roll my ankle 50 times going up those hills. Oh wait, I already did that…in the locker room…on a volleyball bag…awkward.

Not to mention the meets the team takes part in. I have not personally been to any of the meets. But I have heard some crazy stories from some of the runners. Let’s just say there have been some strange scenes at the finish line. But hey, I would be in a weird state too once I crossed the finish line of that tortuous 3.1 mile run. You could not pay me to do that. Okay, maybe if it was good money…maybe.

So yeah, you have to be tough to run cross country. These girls run outside, rain or shine, and never seem to get tired of it. Everyday, I see them in their tube socks and sports bras (ironic right?) running for what seems like forever. These girls have a toughness that many cannot match. So kudos to you cross country runners. Congrats on being some of the craziest, most hard-working athletes at STA.