2023 Summer Training for XC

Summer Training, while not required, is highly recommended if you plan to participate in fall Cross-Country.  

It takes many weeks to build endurance, and it is extremely helpful to start the season already having an endurance base so that you will be able to complete the team workouts during the season, and to reduce the chances of getting injured (starting the season out-of-shape without already having worked on your endurance is one of the most common causes of injury).

All athletes will need begin the season being able to run a minimum of 3 miles without stopping or walking EACH DAY, 6 days a week, in order to make the team.  If you are a new runner, building up to this gradually over the summer is the best way to achieve this standard by the time the season starts at the end of August.  Our races are 3 miles (usually 5K, or 3.1 miles), and the shortest daily workout in Cross-Country practices would be a 3-mile run.  Being able to complete this distance daily without needing to stop and walk  is not only important for your ability to handle the workouts, it is a safety issue as well-- we do not want athletes becoming separated from the rest of the team if they can't keep up on runs throughout the city.

Below is a detailed document with recommendations as to how to go about summer training, prepared by Coach Blondin. 

(Click in the upper right of the document to view full-screen or to download it).