Athletics at the high school level are an enhancement of the overall high school experience. They teach discipline, develop a work ethic, time management, and other key lessons that will benefit student-athletes the rest of their lives (whether the kids like it or not!). That’s why – as cross country coaches - Coach Rankin and I demand a high standard of respect, cooperation, hard work, a degree of self-sufficiency and diligence from our runners. Below is a “crash-course” for what parents should expect during the summer and fall of cross country season.

ATTENDANCE IS KEY…

There are two phases of practice. Summer conditioning and the school year. In the Summer, practice will generally start at 6:30PM, unless noted otherwise, and will be 5-6 days a week. We will vary the location – Paul VI High School, Haddonfield High School, Gloucester County College – so as to give our runners access to soft-surfaced trails, interesting routes, etc. These practices are OPTIONAL – BUT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. They must have some sort of an aerobic mileage base before the competitive season starts in September and before I feel comfortable putting them through workouts, a 5k race, etc. Over the weekends during the Summer – generally LONG RUN days (Sundays) – we have occasionally in the past run at Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia, Belmont Plateau, Manasquan Reservoir, etc.  These practices normally start at 9:30AM and we get back from 12-1PM. Times may vary of course. Parents are more than welcome to come along and get a run in with us! 

ONCE SCHOOL BEGINS: Practice is at 3:00PM after school. Tardiness is unacceptable and communication is key. Unexcused absences (an absence without contacting coach whether in person or by phone) will count against Varsity Points accumulation. If a student needs to miss practice or show up late, we need to be aware of it – preferably as far in advance as possible. It’s not fair to all of the runners that show up everyday, do all the hard work… After several unexcused absences, we reserve the option of dismissal from the team. All PVIXC runners will be expected to sign a “Contract” which details the expectations this program has of them.

Practice generally lasts at a maximum of 2 hours. The only variation would be during the Summer Conditioning phase when we might travel farther in order to run on more favorable surfaces. Parents will know well in advance of that happening.

HYDRATION

Another big key – especially during the hot summer training months – is hydration. Remember this rule – water is a before and after workout drink. GATORADE is an AFTER workout drink. One common misconception is that if you drink water right before practice, you’re hydrated. Untrue, hydrating is a continuous necessity. The intake of fluid should really be an even process, not chugging a bottle of water an hour before practice. By the time you actually feel thirsty, your body is already at a deficit and your workout/race may be affected. There’s no set amount of water one should drink but one good practice is to have a tall glass of water with every meal – ESPECIALLY when you’re in season. Gatorade and Powerade can be drunk before practice just make sure it’s at least several hours before…the electrolytes in both sports drinks help facilitate water absorption. These drinks are heavy, however, and have been known to upset a stomach or two before workouts. They are best for post-workout consumption. And lastly, in season, please try and stay away from soda, caffeine, and of course, alcohol. In short, they dehydrate you. If you’re a coffee or tea drinker, counter it with some water and keep the quantity down.

EQUIPMENT

The luxury of cross country is that it is minimalistic and extremely cost-efficient. The only thing we beg of you, with regards to your children, is that you purchase the “right shoe”. The “right shoe” means a running shoe that If you go up to the Haddonfield, Mullica Hill, or Moorestown Running Companies, they will watch you walk and run to see exactly what your biomechanics are (how your foot strikes, overpronation, underpronation, neutral?). From that analysis, they will be able to recommend you several pairs of shoes. The prices generally range from $80-$120. If you go to any of the aforementioned running companies and say you’re with Paul VI Cross Country, you will get a 10% discount on the shoes. As the kids have been told, we recommend – especially if your child is doing higher mileage – that they purchase new shoes every 400-500 miles. For varsity runners, this can mean every 2-3 months. This is a big reason why we “track their mileage”. Countless times runners will develop shin splints or plantar fascitis due to lack of support, worn out shoes, or the wrong kind of shoes.

There is one other footwear cost and these generally can last your child through every running season (XC, track) – if, of course, they join us! SPIKES are exactly they sound like…a lightweight racing shoe in which you put spikes (generally 1/4″ to 3/8″) in order to maximize traction. It is not mandatory of course, but it goes a long way when your child is trying to race up hills, in mud, etc. These can run anywhere from $60-100 and can be purchased at the same places mentioned above. For more information go to www.runningco.com or ask Coach. The owner, Dave Welsh, is extremely in touch with and passionate about the local high school cross country scene and he’ll do everything he can to find the right shoe for your child.  

RACES

All high school cross country runners race 5,000 meters (5k or 3.1 miles). There are a couple of meets a season which might see different distances contested (Eastern States – 2.5 miles). Most freshmen races are normally 2 to 2.5 miles in length.

There are two types of races in New Jersey – the dual meet and the invitational. The dual meets are run at Gloucester County College against other Olympic Conference teams. They take place on weekdays – right after school normally. The invitational are weekend meets run at different locales that ‘invite’ upwards of 20-50 schools to compete.

Everyone participates in cross country (XC). There is no bench. And no one to warm it. There are Frosh/Soph, Junior Varsity and Varsity races, but everyone gets to race. Our PVIXC runners work extremely hard in practice and sacrifice a lot of time and energy to shine for their meets. The more parents, family members that come to support – the better! The Booster Club (more on that later) will coordinate parent volunteers before each meet to make sure our runners are properly taken in care of – enough gatorade, enough water, enough post-race snacks, etc.

An hour before the race, we generally send our team out on a pre-race warm-up. This is meant to be their “time to focus” or “game time”. We ask politely that parents allow them this time so they can do what they need to do to perform at their highest level. More importantly, after the race is done – please allow them the proper time to cool-down and do everything they need to do to keep healthy and advance recovery post-race. After all that is done, we can all eat, chat, and have fun.

How is a Cross Country Meet Scored?

The lowest score wins. A perfect score in cross country would be 15 points. That means a team would have to finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th to get those points. The first five finishers score for their respective team, but the 6th and 7th finishers are JUST AS IMPORTANT. They act as “dis-placers” – meaning if they finish in front of the other team’s top 7 finishers, they can push our opponent’s score higher. In the event of a tie, which ever team has the fastest 6th finisher will win the race. This rarely happens, but IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.