Cross country teams practice on different surfaces to prepare for meets

By Raju Woodward
Gazette-Times Reporter

It’s late on a Monday afternoon and the Corvallis High boys cross country team is finishing up their practice on the track at Spartan Stadium.

Fifteen minutes later, the sound of shoes hitting the pavement signals the return of the girls squad from a run off campus.

It’s hardly what you would expect out of a cross country practice.

Most people envision cross country as a rugged sport that involves rugged terrain and hills, which the Crescent Valley and Philomath teams have quick and easy access to.

CV is literally a few steps away from an abundance of hills and wooded area, while PHS has its own course on school grounds.

CHS doesn’t have that luxury, but the Spartans have made the best of their situation. They have gotten creative when it comes to picking places to run.

“We have some storm drains we utilize and some secret detours,” senior Nathan Worden said. “Sometimes we’ll head out to Marys River and jump in the river. We’ve been more creative this year.”

Last season, the boys started each practice at the track and headed out in the same direction, so they vowed to try something different. And so far, it has been a lot of fun.

That’s part of the reason why CHS coach Mark Hulburt said not having the kind of access to trails like CV does isn’t a big deal. His kids are hard workers who know how to motivate themselves. Besides, the Spartans spend plenty of time in the hills, especially during the offseason.

“In the summer and the early part of the season we meet out in the hills every day,” Hulburt said. “There’s a lot of places around here we can go with hills and we have a lot of parents who help us with driving.”

During the season, Hulburt said he tries to get his team out to hills at least once a week. And while CHS runners admit it would be nice to have the same luxury the Raiders have, there are some advantages to being in town.

On easy days, the Spartans are free to run anywhere they want. So if they are feeling a little hungry, they can stop at Great Harvest Bread, a team favorite, for a quick bite. Whereas, CV runners have to run a mile or so just to get to town.

If you ask Noah Wade, though, there’s nothing like hitting the trails after a long day of school. The CV senior said cross country allows him a break from everyday life. Plus, it’s a lot easier on your feet.

“I hate running on the streets, it’s harder on your legs,” Wade said. “There’s more pounding, there’s more live traffic and people around. Usually when you are in a cross country race, you are out there by yourself. When you are on a trail, usually you are just out there with the four other people.”

At the same time, CV runners have to be careful when they are running as well. While they may not have to be on the lookout for traffic like CHS’s runners, they have to be cautious when running downhill to prevent low back injuries.

If that’s the only downside to hills, the Raiders will gladly deal with it. Senior Kelsey Ward said it’s more enjoyable running in the forest and that helps the team stay focused and have fun at the same time.

Added senior Mackenzie Entrikin: “It’s always something different on the trails. I like getting muddy.”

Unfortunately, rugged courses with plenty of brush, hills and streams are far and between these days. Many Mid-Willamette meets are held on flat surfaces. And all three local coaches — Hulburt, CV’s Tyler Bushnell and PHS’s Joe Fulton — prefer more traditional courses. In fact, Hulburt didn’t hide his disdain for a lot of today’s courses.

“They are too easy, it’s almost like you should train for track,” Hulburt said. “When I was a kid there were lots of hills. It was either up or down. You didn’t worry about how fast you could go. One of problems now is every kid wants to see how fast they can run a 5K, but it doesn’t mean a thing. In a good cross country race, there’s all kind of terrain.”

Fulton agrees with Hulburt for the most part. He compared a lot of today’s cross country races to middle distance track events since so much of the racing is done on the flats. Fulton said part of the issue is that the state meet is held at Lane Community College, which isn’t hilly, much less rugged. However, it’s the only venue large enough to accommodate all the athletes, coaches, officials and spectators that come to the meet.

PHS’s course, which was modified last year, resembles the course at Lane. But Fulton makes sure his runners experience true cross country racing every year. In September and October, he takes his team to more rugged courses.

Two weekends ago, the Warriors participated in the Cobra Invitational in Brownsville, which required runners to cross the Calapooia River several times. Fulton said his kids loved getting wet and muddy.

“I want my kids to have fun early on,” Fulton said. “It keeps things interesting for them. As we get closer to districts and state, then we start getting prepared for a fast field.”

With that in mind, maybe CHS has the real advantage having a newer track and having to run on flatter surfaces more often, because both promote faster running. And in this day and age, cross country meets come down to speed.

One thing hasn’t changed over time — that cross country is supposed to be as fun as it is challenging.

So while all three schools have taken advantage of their locations, their runners all agree nothing beats a “true” cross country race, like the ones their coaches ran.

“More rugged courses are the best,” CHS sophomore Annette Marinello said. “At this one meet, there was a huge mud pit that we ran through. It was so much fun.”