You may have seen those shots of cross-country athletes running. Maybe you’ve been to a cross-country meet yourself and you’ve seen in person how fast these athletes run. Do you ever wonder what motivates them to keep up the pace?
Junior Alexander Carter said, “It’s from the coaching…with Coach Rehberg, a lot of what she does for workouts are very beneficial for us.”
Carter then went on to state the exact reason he is motivated to run during meets. “It (cross-country) makes me feel successful…it’s very rewarding to do the sport.”
“In the end, it’s very rewarding and beneficial for you and in the long run, it just works out more in your favor if you stick with it,” Carter finished. This shows that cross-country is a sport that requires an intense amount of effort but most importantly, perseverance. Cross-country is one of those sports that will help a person grow and strengthen that perseverance.
After being asked how cross-country athletes prepare for any upcoming meets, Senior Carlie Ortiz stated, “Treating practices like they are a meet, not just being there to say, ‘I went,’ but actually putting in your full effort.” Ortiz elaborated on this, sharing that slacking off is not an option for her in this sport.
When asked how she felt when she discovered that she was the top of the cross-country team, Ortiz said, “I felt very proud of myself…and not just because you’re the fastest on the team…you shouldn’t just…slack off. You should use that as more…motivation to go faster.” Sometimes, when a person is told that they are the best at something, they will want to take it easy and stop putting in the effort because they believe that since they are the best, they have no reason to work as hard. Ortiz disagrees with this, stating that her being the best is her motivation to go faster and work harder.
The head girl’s cross-country coach, Elsie Rehberg, was spoken to as well. The sport of cross-country is unique in the sense that coaches will actually run and train alongside their athletes during conditioning. When asked to share some words on this topic, Coach Rehberg shared. “…one of the reasons I like to jump in there with them is just so that they can see that what I’m telling them to do, that I can also do it and I can help them finish…truthfully, I do it to stay in shape too.”
Coach Rehberg said that she likes to run alongside her athletes to stay in shape as well, but she emphasized the fact that she does it for the purpose of showing her athletes that the things she tells them to do and the techniques she’s asking them to use actually work. Coach Rehberg also elaborated more on this, saying she wants to build the team up in any way she possibly can.
Lastly, Coach Rehberg shared some advice to anyone who may want to pursue cross-country, “Just give it a try. I know…running is what…all these other sports do in terms of like, conditioning or maybe a punishment and so, some kids can be really turned off by it.” Coach Rehberg then went on to explain why cross-country is a beneficial activity to pursue.
“You know, it’s a good way to kind of test yourself and push yourself. Again, it’s a team sport, but it’s also very much an individual sport, so you’ve got to be confident in yourself, you’ve got to be strong.” Coach Rehberg advised.
Perseverance is a crucial quality that all cross-country athletes must possess in order to succeed. This was reiterated when Coach Rehberg then elaborated on her previous quote, saying, “It’s just something you’ve got to stick with and stay with if you want to get better at it.”
