I didn't run cross country in high school. I was a wrestler and baseball player. At that time, I reluctantly got into running a bit as my dad was a triathlete. In fact, I spent two weeks in October of my senior year in Hawaii watching my dad compete in the Ironman. At that time, the idea of swimming 2.4 miles and then biking 112 miles and then running a marathon was mind-boggling. Seeing my dad wake up each morning in the months prior to the race conditioned me to not think why someone would do such an event, but rather how could they. For me, running became this "hard" thing to do and being an aspiring successful wrestler, I figured if it was hard, then it worked. It's a monotonous, tedious, and mundane task with no ball to throw, hit, kick, or catch, and the day-to-day results are minuscule. But that was the "hard" part I sought. How good or better I was getting when I would run, I didn't really know. The 2-mile loop I did near my home at the time in western Pennsylvania might as well have been an Ironman because it was a daunting task to complete and I reminded myself more of how I was going to accomplish that run, instead of why. So, by the time my senior year of high school came around, and I stood on Alli Drive in Kona, Hawaii, cheering on my dad, I already knew the why of an endurance sport, but the how is what escaped me. And it still does.
Now about 40 years later and 25 years into coaching high school cross country, my selling point to the aspiring high school cross country athlete isn't why they should do it, but rather how they'll do it. I figure if I try to debate the why, then I'll lose them. I've had scores of kids, and even coaches from other sports, tell me, WHY would someone run just to get tired? They're not lying. That is our sport. Dissect it however you want in terms of speed, pace, race tactics, etc., but I firmly believe the athlete who wins a race is the one who got tired the least. And that's what a cross country practice simply tries to do. Make us less tired.
And to make matters worse, we train in so much excess for the sports we try to excel in. When asked how many miles my athletes run a week, I always know that after I answer, the individual will reply with, "Why so much for just a 3.1-mile race?" It's a valid point and a legitimate argument that they pose. But all sports have their excesses. You get 50 pitches of batting practice a day for, maybe, 10 pitches that get thrown to you during a game. You take 80 free throws after practice for, maybe, 5 free throws you'll take during a game. We all overdo our crafts on the practice field in order to get a free pass to get "less tired" on the playing field. And therein lies the argument for the toughest and scariest component in all of sports: getting tired. Being strong enough, fast enough, having the best technique, and even having the best supporting cast in our teammates are all challenges that we want to achieve the best of when we practice. But none of them scare us as much as getting tired. I'll debate that forever. I once read a quote that said, "Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards.". It's true, right? And we're not cowards at that point for fear of winning, losing, PRing, or even the simple act of running. Nope, we're cowards because we're about to get really tired and we know it. And it scares the heck out of us.
As an ex-wrestler, I've had this debate numerous times with wrestling coaches about which sport is tougher, running or wrestling. It's very subjective and very biased and it's not one that will be settled here. Or ever, for that matter, as all sports are relative to the person doing them in terms of what's the toughest. And how does one define "toughest" anyway? Nevertheless, I will say this, though, that for an hour most athletes can swing a bat at pitched balls and not hit one; for an hour most athletes can shoot a basketball at a rim and not put one in the cylinder; and for an hour most athletes can step on a mat and try take another athlete down and never get close to it and maybe even get mauled themselves in the process. But for an hour, can most athletes run? Even at the slowest pace they can muster? And after that pace is even too fast, can they walk for the remainder of that hour?
This is not a proclamation on what the toughest high school sport is. Nor is it in any way to belittle another sport. I've done them all and every sport is tough to do. That's what makes them great. But more so, this is a very long-winded and in-depth pump-up speech for those of you who are just about to begin your first week of cross country. As I think of the teams I've coached over the years, the participants have been varied at the least. Different cultures, different backgrounds, different goals, and, yes, so many different abilities. But they've all had the same question they chase after: How am I going to do this? How am I going to race 5000 meters? How am I going to make Varsity? How am I going to be a State Champion? The why has been answered for all of them long beforehand. They aren't the ones who need to know why. But they do need to know the how.
So, to all of you. Coaches, parents, and runners. The early mornings; the hot days; the mileage; and, most of all, the tiredness of every step you took this summer and the ones you'll continue to take this week and many more. All of it is some type of self-imposed experiment into suffering on how to master this sport and being tired. To go back to what I said earlier, when an athlete asks me why they should run, I would lose them in the zones 1 through 5 explanation or the benefits of mitochondrial density or even the simple response of because it's fun. All sports have their aerobic and anaerobic benefits; cellular enhancement can be achieved in walking the hallways at school; and all sports are fun. So those reasons are futile for the "why" to run. So, I bypass the "why" and go right to the "how". It's a much simpler explanation. And if you're a coach, find out your how and explain that to the kid on the fence. If you're a parent, tell your kid on the fence to ask their coach or maybe you have an answer of your own. And if you're an athlete, the "how" of this sport is the best part. Whether you become a state champion or break a school record or make varsity or finish last in a race, you're a runner. For life. And that "how" may be what you're running to find out for the rest of your running days. And if you want to know the "why", go on a run and that'll be answered for you when you get back.
Have a great season Kansas and see you on the course.
