Girls’ and boys’ cross country athletes gear up for fall

As the fall season begins, both the girls’ and boys’ cross country teams are working hard to improve their endurance.

According to junior Carolyn Qi, the keys to the girls’ team’s success are to “work hard, run far, run fast and not get injured.” 

She added that working together and friendly competition help runners improve.

Junior Steven Sum said the entire team is hoping to improve their record, while each of them has own personal goal.

To meet his goal of winning CCS this fall, Sum fits in as many training sessions as possible, even if it is before school. Many days, he runs twice a day.

“I’ll run the workout with the rest of the team, but I’ll usually do extra mileage,” he said.

Even if he does not win CCS, Sum hopes to place in the top five or 10 in the state.

Also, Sum and the rest of the boys’ cross country team have been doing weight workouts to improve this season. Last year at CCS, Sum placed second in the 3-mile run with a time of 15:32.

“Everybody has gotten a lot better and everybody has gotten a lot older,” Sum said.

At CCS last year, Qi placed 33rd in the 3-mile run with a time of 20:55. Qi, who hopes to make it to state with the team, explained that the runners are trying not to work themselves too hard, while also gaining the endurance they need from long runs and hill workouts. 

“There is no I in team, so the team goal is basically my goal. I want to do my best to insure us a spot in states this year,” Qi said.

Like the rest of her teammates, Qi is looking to improve and work hard this season, as well as help the team become as successful as possible.

“Not many people know about cross country,” she said. “But we do have hard working athletes that give it their all.”