Grab your pompoms and game day posters, paint your face and get ready to cheer your lungs out. In the world of sporting events, it’s intense, it’s breathtaking, it’s edge of your seat suspenseful – it’s cross country!
Come on, who doesn’t love watching strangers run past you making ugly faces? Plus, during those two seconds you see your favorite runner, you can cheer your heart out telling them to run faster, even though that person is already working as hard as he or she can and probably cannot hear you anyway.
To add to the enjoyment, when runners aren’t around, spectators can enjoy a lovely view of trees, bushes or just an open field. Occasionally a nice river is present, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
One also can’t forget the weather, which, in the fall months of Michigan, can be windy and sunny one minute, yet rainy and overcast the next. Talk about keeping you on your toes!
However, if standing outside in the woods waiting for athletes to finish running three miles isn’t your cup of tea, no fear! In the spring, track and field took the misery that comes with running a cross country course by incorporating this 5k race into the order of events.
Now you can watch the same race, only instead of through the woods, it’s 13 laps around a track! But hey, at least there are bleachers this time.
Next time you’re in the mood for a great time at a sporting event, look no further than the nearest high school track, a nature center or even a golf course. Watching healthy people run long distances while you alone and eat popcorn can really add a dash of excitement and encouragement to your day!
Leave a Reply