15 Struggles Only Former Cross-Country Runners Will Understand

By Taylor Sturm

Struggles Only Former Cross-Country Runners Will Understand

Cool Running Picture — If you ran cross-country, you know the combined pain and joy of miles and miles of running every day. Running cross-country is a love/hate relationship between your body, your mind and, sometimes, your shoes. Here are 15 struggles only former and current cross-country runners will understand.

15. “Our Sport Is Your Sport’s Punishment”

Race Winner

15. “Our Sport Is Your Sport’s Punishment”

Race Winner — It was funny the first time, but now it might be the most annoying running joke in all of sports.

Get it? Running joke.

14. Constantly Judging People's Running Form

Sunset Running

14. Constantly Judging People's Running Form

Sunset running — Whether you’re driving down the road or relaxing at the park, it physically pains you to see another runner with bad form. You think things like, “Oh, that’s bad for your knees,” or “Oh, you need to take longer strides,” and then you feel terrible for thinking rude things about people who are probably new to running.

13. “Rabbits”

Cross Country Start

13. “Rabbits”

Cross Country Start — At every race, there were a few people on opposing teams whose duty it was to sprint the first mile as hard as they could to mess up the pace. If this was you, you’re a terrible person.

12. Strange Coach-Made Food

Starting Line Cross Country

12. Strange Coach-Made Food

Starting Line Cross Country — Cross-country coaches had remedies for everything, including some type of coach-made food or drink. I’m 99 percent sure ours was just Kool-Aid with salt in it, but we were 100 percent convinced that it made us better runners.

11. Hills

X-Country Runners

11. Hills

X-Country Runners — For those of you who didn’t run cross country, I’m not talking just one hill. I’m talking a whole day dedicated to sprinting up and down hills repeatedly.

The bane of every cross-country runners’ existence, hills are the cross-country world’s equivalent of dying a slow, painful death.

10. Lingo

Cross Country

10. Lingo

Cross Country — Cross-country culture has a mind of its own. Inside jokes are everywhere, as is cross-country jargon. If someone walked up to me and said, “Oh, we did telephone poles today followed by repeat 1600s,” I would know exactly what that means. In any other circumstance, that’s gibberish.

9. “Easy Days”

Cross Country Pictures

9. “Easy Days”

Cross Country Pictures — Ah, easy days for cross-country.

And by easy days, I mean six to 10 miles of straight running.

8. That One Female Runner

Female Cross country

8. That One Female Runner

Female Cross Country — Every former cross-country runner I’ve ever met, including myself, remembers that there was at least one female runner who every single person was sure was destined for the Olympics. Every person at the meet knew her name, and her running times were spoken of in whispers.

7. Playing a Sport

Cross Country Race

7. Playing a Sport

Cross Country Race — If you’ve ever seen a group of teenagers playing a sport in the middle of nowhere, they’re likely cross-country runners. Some days, teams would go run in different directions all to just loop around and play a game of football behind a bank.

6. Hiding From Coach

X-Country Race

6. Hiding From Coach

X-Country-Race — A follow-up point to the previous number, cross-country coaches are some of the most mistrustful of any sport – and for good reason. Every group of runners were always on the lookout for the coach driving around town and would warn fellow runners that the coach was nearby.

5. Runners With Weird Nicknames

Awesome Running Photo

5. Runners With Weird Nicknames

Awesome Running Photo — There were always a few elite runners from your district or division who everyone knew by strange nicknames. For us, there were two guys with long hair who always won races and everyone called “The Jesus Brothers.” No one knew their names, but every single person at the meet knew who The Jesus Brothers were.

4. Being Able to Guess Distances on Demand

Cross Country Photos

4. Being Able to Guess Distances on Demand

Cross Country Photos — Apparently, part of being a former cross-country runner is that you can guess how far a mile is based on “feel.” You don’t know how you acquired the skill, but you’re pretty certain it’s from running a billion miles over the years.

3. Short Shorts

Runners

3. Short Shorts

Runners — The first time you put on short shorts, it was the most horrifying experience of your entire life. Now, you are probably a lot more comfortable wearing them than any person should be.

2. The “Legend”

Tennis Player Running

2. The “Legend”

Tennis Player Running — There was one runner who everyone spoke about in whispers. Every single person in the state knew his or her name. They were so fast that the rumors about their best time would become impossibly low.

1. Horrible Pictures

Women Cross Country

1. Horrible Pictures

Women Cross Country — There is not one picture anyone has ever taken in their entire lives that is worse than candid cross-country pictures. A quick pic will show you what looks like horrific pain on the face of a runner, and those awful pictures will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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