Should I join Cross Country next year?

Question

I am thinking about doing CC next year. I am kind of uncertain because it is very "cultish" at my school and I have never done organized running before. I already do swim team and marching band, both very athletic, so I have the endurance and stamina but I dont know how different running is from swimming (other than the obvious). Can you do one if you can do the other?

Marching band and swim team are kind of cultish too and I am friends with most of the CC team (like football gets along with Baseball, Tennis and golf) there are all these teams that get along in certain ways (see ones listed above) at my school.

Answer 1

YES! I am another marcher/runner.. And I don't know how competitive your school is in marching band world, or whether you even compete in competitive circuits, but the biggest obstacle for me in my school was to tackle both at once (I go to a school with a nationally acclaimed band and an extremely dedicated xc team) But let me tell you- there's nothing better than the feeling you get when you have TWO families in the school, both band and xc. The memories I made this fall with BOTH my families made up for every day I had to go on 6 mile runs after band camp, or travel from one end of the state to the other for a combination xc invitational/band competition day. It sounds crazy, it is crazy, but personally, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Cross country is the best sport to get involved in. It gives you a family, memories and unbelievable friends, along with the strength and endurance you need for swimming. What's cool is that you're looking at two sports with very high individual rewards. The only thing you might have a problem with is the stress running puts on your body- Swimming is an extremely low-impact sport, and running is an extremely high one. Keep that in mind, but I would recommend that you join 100 percent.

Answer 2

CC is a great sport. Swimming uses different muscles and also alot of upper body. Running is mosting lower body (unless of course you can run on your hands but I'll stop being sarcastic). But ya its the same way @ most schools where football players like basketball/baseball players. And runners of all sorts are kinda forgotten only because most schools vastly dislike runners. CC is fun. @ my school its basically a second family. We do so much together- team dinners like once a week for the entire team, and my friends and I all hang out on weekends, etc. @ most schools it is possible to do Marching Band and CC, but it can be entirely up to coaches on that. CC helps your endurance for swimming as running builds entire body fitness. Hope you enjoy CC if you run.

Answer 3

i ran cross country for 2 years in high school and loved it. Lots of hill running, some speed work but mostly endurance running LSD - Long Slow Distance with a bit of speed work. And lots of hill climbs, if you live in a hilly area. But the fun is not only how you train for cross country, but visiting other schools and running their courses. Some are in parks, some on school grounds, some through forests but all different and all a challenge. Pacific High School in San Bernadino, California, was in our league and had a killer hill, I mean, a 300 meter slope that was a gas! On the backside, you ran down some switchbacks, over another hill then a 200 meter dash across the athletic field to the finish. By all means do it. You will be in great shape and have a great time.

Answer 4

absolutely joing CC. In my opinion it is one of the best sports out there! Doing it with swimming prefectly fine. In fact, they compliment each other quite well. Both are mainly based on your cardiovascular strength, so doing one will ultimately improve the other. The main difference is obviously the impact. I'll use Lance Armstrong as an example. He ran the NYC marathon this fall, and choked miserably. It wasn't because he wasn't strong enough in his cardio, that was the least of his problems. He's used to riding a bike, which requires little impact on your legs. His breathing was not the thing that broke down, it was his legs! I'm sure swimming has made you very strong in your cardio, the hardest part will be avoiding injuries. To do this, be sure to train over the summer so that once regular practices start, your legs will be somewhat used to it. Good luck!

Answer 5

ok i run high school cross country and it is always the best part of the year. Swimming and cross country go together very closely. One of my friends is a cross country runner and on a swim team and each once compliments the other. I play soccer to go with cross country since i play a position that requires lots of running. Plus, cross country has lots of benefits. 1) you can so eat whatever without worrying becuase you'll just burn it off at practice 2) you'll excel at other sports because of endurance and fitness 3) its fun!! I think you should join because cross country is a great sport to be involved in

Answer 6

Hmmm...I'd say try it. At my school, a lot of runners also swim (I don't, but I have friends who do) and even though you do use different muscles for the sports, it's still easier than joining if you didn't do any sports at all. And yeah, XC teams are indeed very cultish, but we're usually an easy team to break into. :)

Answer 7

yes you should if you are serious about it. You can't make excuses like " i've never done this before i can't do it" or " i am a swimmer not a runner" you must must must stick with it. Also people can be different when they start to run. You might want to stick with them but they might want to go ahead, you have to realize that they are just trying to get thier workout in. I am a diver and i know that some of the swim team are cross country runners and they are decent.

Answer 8

You should definetely do cross country. at our school both cross country and swimming are in the same season so you can only do one or the other...but ive noticed swimmers are pretty good runners too. i don't know what you mean by cultish...but you'll make a lot of new friends in cross and it's a lot of fun.

Answer 9

First off I run XC, and it is not as cultish as our swim team. But I love xc. I am pretty good at it, and it was the best decision of my life.

Answer 10

You should totally go for it! I am a cross country girl, im the top in my school. All you need is lots of indurance. To improve your indurance practise running. You could be a good swimmer but not neccisarly a good runner. You never know... try it!!