Alpharetta Raiders Cross Country - Important Facts


IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT CROSS COUNTRY


  1. You must be academically eligible (have passed 5 out of 6 classes for high school students). You also must have a current physical. Physicals are good for one year, no matter what sport you got it for. You must also have two other forms signed by a parent / guardian. One is an insurance verification and the other is a wavier to participate. Incoming Freshman are automatically eligible for the fall semester.
  2. A normal cross country race is a 5k, or 3.1 miles.
  3. The A team consists of the top 7 runners (many races it's 10 or more). The B team consists of the rest of the runners on a team. This division allows everyone to be competitive in their race.
  4. The top 5 runners for a school score points. The place that a runner gets in a race is the same number of points he scores for his team. So the lower the team score, the better. For example, if a team swept the first five places in a race (a perfect score - happens very rarely), then their score would be a 15 (1+2+3+4+5=15).
  5. In case of a tie, then the scoring goes to the sixth runner. The team whose sixth runner came in first wins.
  6. Most runners race in a pair of shoes called spikes, because they have plates on the bottom for removable metal spikes, for better traction. These are not required; some runners race in normal training shoes. However, they are strongly recommended not only because of the added traction, but because they are lighter too.
  7. Water is EXTREMELY important for distance running. Your goal should be 64 oz (or 8 normal sized glasses) of water a day, but any water is better than none.
  8. Be patient. Most varsity runners have been running for many years, and have built up to where they are. If you rush into too much mileage, you risk getting injured. Take your time; if you've never run before try doing it three days a week for a couple of weeks. Then take it to four, and increase your daily mileage slightly. After a couple of weeks of that, raise your mileage and the amount of days you are running again. The key is that the beginning runner never wants to make a huge jump.
  9. Expect to feel really tired some days. Even the best runners in the state have off days. But any mileage you get in is like money in the bank. You may feel tired doing it, but it will add to your endurance, which will pay off later. In the summer, be smart; get your run over with in the morning if you know you have a busy day.
  10. If something is sore, stretch it or ice it; 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off for an hour. Ibuprofen is good too, if your parents don't mind you taking it. Never make a jump in mileage if something is slightly sore or bothering you.

The great thing about running is that if you put in the miles, you WILL get better. And HAVE FUN! Take advantage of being on a team full of hard workers; when a lot of people are working hard together, it's amazing what they can accomplish.