Cross Country is a demanding sport that requires determination, a strong mentality, physicality, and will-power. These varsity and junior varsity athletes wake up around five in the morning on Saturdays to run 3.1 miles on different courses. Your place on the team isn’t determined by how old you are or what grade you’re in, but how fast you can run. This is decided by the time trial, so if you’re a senior, you aren’t necessarily guaranteed a spot on varsity, even though this is classified as the norm.
The time trial is a race between the athletes on the St. Petersburg High Cross Country team. The top seven from each team are chosen for varsity. Every year, roughly thirty athletes from each team come to Crescent Lake to run the course. It is a high stakes race for those who want to become faster. In past years, the time trial has been a fun event that everyone enjoys. Families come out to support their athletes achieve their racing dreams. Due to the hurricanes in past years, this years’ time trial proved to be more successful. Additionally, the setup of the course was better, as a result… Gianna Delgado, a senior, says that she enjoys seeing “how far [her] teammates could push themselves.” She explained that she thought this year was better because of more interest than in previous years. Similarly, Fletcher Hammond, a junior on the team, said that his favorite part was “how [he] felt after [his] first mile.” He believed he paced well during the first half of the race and it helped him to get his desired time. Daniela Julian, another senior, is on the team for the first time. Her favorite part of the morning was when she “got to run with [her] new friends.” She believed that everything was perfect and that it was fun to do. She was also ecstatic, since this was her first 5k. They also have many new freshmen joining the team, including Jack Knippen. Although it’s his first year, he has watched many races in the past. He claimed that his favorite part was “the last stretch where [he] could see the finish line.”
Along with the excitement of the race, the course can also be challenging for most runners. First, they start in the middle of the grass and sprint their way to find a spot. Then, they run around the lake until they reach the one-mile point. (This is where most people start to control their pace and breathing.) They run around the lake a second time, and then by the two-mile point, they switch directions. Finally, they run down a small hill towards the finish. Most people are happy with their times, as a result of their hard work. This year, senior Abner Neumann had the best time. He believes that “it was a good way to start [his] season.”
Overall, everyone has a good time participating and running in this exciting race. No matter the difficulty of the course it is a fun experience for everyone on the team.
