by Amy Daines, Staff Writer
Let’s face it… you know you are a member of the cross country team if you are guilty of most (if not all) the following running stereotypes.
Pasta is your favorite food. You live for those team spaghetti dinners the night before your big race. You are constantly worrying that you will not get enough carbs in your system to run well. Good thing spaghetti/pasta/lasagna/all noodles is all that you need.
You are not afraid of running in the rain. In fact, rain is your favorite type of running weather. It cools you off, the clouds block the sun, and it means there are even puddles to jump in. “I love puddles!” says Maddy Lloyd, a current member of the cross country team at Brighton High School. “I love to splash my teammates. It makes them angry and it makes me happy.” The rain is perfect for running!
For some reason, whenever you are running on the street people love to honk or yell things at you while they drive past. “Run faster!” seems to be the favorite. Most runners will feel terror and then immediate rage. Not cool.
No matter how many races you have ran, the starter gun always catches you off guard. You are never fully prepared for the loud crack of the starting gun and always fumble the first few steps of the race. For a while you were convinced it was a real gun, but then realized it was only a sound gun….. but are still scared of it.
You will wear even the brightest, most neon pair of shoes if they are spikes. BRING ON THE NEON. Runners will buy even the ugliest of shoes/spikes if they are a good pair of running shoes and have promises of a blister-free future.
The watch/sock tan line is permanent no matter what season it is. The sun is always beating down on you while you run, and your socks and watch create an embarrassing tan line for whenever you are not running. It is always there, and never goes away.
You are too lazy to get contacts for your glasses that keep sliding off your face. For those runners who wear glasses, you just deal with the constant annoyance that they never stay put on your face. Rain makes it hard to see, sweat makes them always slipping around, and they bounce around with every step you take. But do you buy contacts to fix the problem? No.
Your coach doesn’t care that you threw up during the race and tells you to keep going. The race is more important than your sickly condition, and you are expected to continue running as if nothing happened.
There are not enough seats in coach’s car so the freshman always ends up sitting on the floor. Ironic how freshmen cannot drive and yet they are the last ones anyone thinks about when it comes to rides. Huh.
You are constantly drinking water. Your running mantra is “hydrate or diedrate.” You are always drinking water and make a goal to refill your water bottle at least twice in one day. Water and electrolytes = a successful run.
If you are guilty of any of these stereotypes, then you know you are a cross country runner. Don’t be ashamed of who you truly are and keep on running!