Cool Runnings

Over the last few months I have been convinced that Cross Country runners are the hardest working college athletes in existence (except for of course, JV Women's soccer players). I haven't seen more hard work, discipline, and dedication on any other team. Know what made up my mind? Attending a Cross Country meet.

Don't let those skinny legs fool you. They're legit. These guys (and girls) spend their summers running somewhere around 10 miles A DAY, and that's the offseason. Not exactly my idea of a good time. When they finally get to the season, they have to prepare for these meets where they race against OTHER skinny people who have ALSO been running 10 miles a day all summer to see who can push themselves closer to the edge without puking. Or, in many cases, they get to the edge and puke anyway. It's like they enjoy torturing themselves. I don't understand it. 

So my friends and I went to a meet to cheer on the XC team. The gun goes off, and a huge pack of runners wearing shorts of questionable lengths takes off toward a golf cart that leads the way. Nobody is wearing iPods or anything, so i'm sure they're all listening to the heavy breathing of those people gaining on them just five yards behind or so. (There was this little smug dude from another school like thirty feet in front of everyone who seemed pretty proud of himself. He led for most of the race and I had an idea to run out on the course and trip him, but I thought I'd better back off.) During the race, my friends and I are sprinting around from place to place (who knew, it's not just the Cross Country teams who have to run at a meet) to cheer them along at different points on the route. As time passes, these runners look more and more like they got punched in the stomach, but they continue somehow. 

Cheering on the (middle 3) XC girls

We finally get to the home stretch before the finish line, and while I spent the other portions of the race cheering for people to go faster, this is the point where I'm screaming for people to SLOW the heck DOWN. These guys don't look good. They're foaming at the mouth, they're groaning, their eyes are closed in pain, and I'm fairly certain a defibrillator is in the near future for most. At this point, I want to yell "IT'S NOT WORTH IT! THINK OF YOUR HEALTH!" and "YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH - JUST STOP NOW!" Thankfully, most of them don't heed my advice, keep on trucking, and make it to the finish line. Tip: Don't linger at the finish line as a spectator. Lots of vomit. Not ideal. 

Then after going through this ordeal, the runners talk about how they didn't get better than their personal record and are disappointed with their time. Um, you got dressed up in skimpy little shorts in November to go run a 5k. That's enough for me. Cross Country runners of America, I salute you.