This year’s girls cross country team is made up of 33 members, 3 PGs, 10 seniors, 6 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 9 freshmen. This season they will have 9 races in total: 5 dual-mate races, 2 invitationals, and 2 championships. The girls will confront Berkshire, Westminster, and Millbrook on our home course on 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21, respectively.

The team meet six times a week in the trophy room for practices or races. Daily practices always start with a warm-up, followed by running drills to ensure good forms of running and to prevent injuries. After the one-mile warm-ups, the team moves on to various types of workout, including distance run, speed training, and hill repeats. Mondays and Fridays are usually for distance runs on the river road or captains’ runs. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the team go for a “hard” workout––hill repeats on the Gutbuster and speed training on the course or on the south field. At the end of every practice, the captains will lead a cool-down run and stretching exercises to help the runners fully relax their muscles and prevent tightness and pain.

On the individual level, Coach Baird hopes that every runner can make contribution to the team, stay healthy, and train consistently throughout the season. “Try to make improvement, no matter what position you are on the team,” said Coach Baird. On the team level, he has strong faith in this year’s team. The goal for this season is to have successful dual-mate races, which are preparations for final championship races.

Coach Baird believes that the team’s success depends on good strategies. One strategy is to build up strong pack running and close the gaps between runners. Another strategy is the allocation of energy, going out conservatively and gradually going harder.