A) Optional team runs typically start in early June and run 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). For the first 3 weeks those are lead by team captains who will send an email out with locations. They are morning practices from 7:30-9:00. The athletes usually create a team chat through the app GroupMe to communicate more specifically. After the first 3 weeks, coaches start leading the summer sessions but still on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They use a variety of locations around town to mix up the training and provide different types of workouts. Those typically go 7:15-9:00 and Coach will send out a full schedule. 

A) Coach Norton will send an email out prior to each week with times and locations for practices. Almost all practices are after school from 3:20-5:30. The team does practice offsite on a regular basis usually somewhere within a 10-15 minute drive from TCA. If they practice off campus, practices go from 3:30-5:45. 

A) Some years a parent has set up a car pool pairing non drivers with drivers for the whole season. In years with with less drivers, Coach Norton can use one of the TCA vans to get everyone to practice. Parents pick up from where practice finishes. 

A) Typically Labor Day practice is a night workout on the TCA track under the lights. That gives families most of the long weekend to still get away and do something. Fall break hits as the team is gearing up for championship season (Regionals, JV Championship, State etc) so the team does typically practice the Wednesday-Saturday of fall break. That gives parents the weekend plus Monday/Tuesday to enjoy some time away. 

A) Athletes coming from CP need to be thoughtful and creative in their approach to getting to practice. The biggest issue arises when your CP student is in 8th period dismissing at 3:10. At that point, car pool at North is in full swing so your options are to have your athlete rush out and then drop them somewhere within walking distance. TCA does not want you dropping at Progressive, Bella Springs Apartments or the business's off of Spectrum loop. There is street parking on Spectrum loop and they can walk/jog from there into campus fairly quickly. If their last period is previous to 3:10 you can always get into car pool early and drop at North once school dismisses. 

Each runner will be checked out a racing singlet (jersey) at the beginning of the year. They will return it at the end of the season. Each runner is responsible for purchasing their racing shorts. Coach Norton will send a link out at the beginning of the season with different options. 

Shoes are the biggest piece of equipment needed throughout the cross country season. The coaches can probably give recommendations on types of shoes needed for training and also for racing. Scheels usually does a 20% off coupon for all CHSAA athletes that Coach Norton will send a link for at the beginning of the season. Other running stores in town also do discounts for high school athletes. A great online option is stockx. The other piece of equipment needed is a digital watch. The coaches will typically tell athletes how many minutes they need to run vs. how many miles so while a gps watch is nice, its not necessary. 

All high school races for both boys and girls are 5 kilometers or 3.1 miles. There are a few exceptions at the beginning of the season when a meet will be a shorter distance (usually 2 miles) as a way to help everyone get a bit of a warm up race. 

In high school cross country, the goal is for your team to achieve the lowest score. Points are awarded to the runners based on their finishing place, with the first runner receiving 1 point, the second getting 2, and so on. The team's total score is calculated by adding the finishing points of its top 5 runners. The 6th and 7th runners on the team, known as "displacers", do not add to the team's total score but can improve it by finishing ahead of an opponent's 5th runner, forcing that opponent to receive a higher point value.

A) No. Coach Norton will communicate early and often which athletes will be racing at which meets. Unlike most sports where there is a set JV/Varsity schedule, Cross Country depends on the meet. Some meets will be for everyone, some will be Varsity only and some will be a mix. See the 2025 schedule as an example

Each race has different specifications as to how many runners are allowed to race.  The teams will also fluctuate throughout the season, and are based upon results, injuries, etc.  Varsity can be defined as the top 7-9 runners.  By the first race of the season, coach will communicate to the runners where they currently stand, and will communicate specifically for each race who is slated to run.

For the most part, no. Parents should plan on driving their athletes or carpooling with other familes to meets. The exception is a few races during the year on a school day where the runners get early release. On those days sometimes Coach Norton can use the TCA vans. 

A PR is a "Personal Record" or the best time a runner has achieved.

On occasion, runners are dismissed early to attend a meet.  It's always a best practice to have the runners talk to teachers ahead of time to obtain homework or determine what they need to make up.

Coach will specify what time runners should arrive at the team tent prior to their race, but generally speaking runners should plan to be at the team tent no later than 90 minutes before their scheduled race.

CHSSA allows up to 2 additional runners to be added to Regionals for a max of 9 runners. Coach Norton will always communicate that as time gets closer and its not always a guarantee that they will use both of those spots. For State, each team has the standard 7 runners and 1 alternate.