by Dunham McBride ‘15

Run Forrest Run! “I love you Jenny”

Cross country practices have just started up. We’ve had about a month of practices, and are finally getting into a set routine. Coach Buckley likes to run a tight ship and all of his practices follow a set template. Typically we start with core work, then move onto biking, if we’re at Stuart Hall. From there we usually go running, If we’re at Convent we start walking down to the Marina Green. Practice lasts between an hour and a half to two hours.

Coach Buckley and Coach Helms both emphasize the mental aspect of the sport. Although the physical aspect is crucial, developing mental strength is just as important. You’ve got to enter a race, or start a practice, with the mindset that you will win. While we do core work, it is typical to hear Coach Buck rambling on about what systems we’re using and its impact on our body. Truth is, nobody really pays attention, but that doesn’t matter. The true point of it is to put your mind somewhere else. Yes, practice is painful. That’s the point. What you need to do is not think about it. Similarly, when we’re biking, Coach Helms likes to do some really weird stuff. Sometimes you’ll see him singing along to a song while staring into someones eyes with a soul-splitting glare. Other times, he’ll start yelling words of encouragement, “YOUR BODY WILL HATE YOU, BUT YOUR SOUL WILL LOVE YOU!”

Our first meet was on September 10. The team finished fifth out of thirteen. Our fastest runner Thomas Namara ‘15 finished in fifth place, for varsity boys, with a 11:37 on a 2.15 mile race. Overall the team results were good, but we’ll be looking to improve a lot over the rest of the season.