Compare And Contrast Essay On Cross Country Vs Track

Out With a Bang

Cross country and track to an outsider, they can only be seen as running. Well, to a student of the sport they are both so much more. Runners are gathered to both, but there are plenty of variations between the two. Although I love both of these sports, if I had to side with one, I would choose track. These can commonly be seen in training, races, and people.

The training in these sports is an enormous difference. In cross country a runner trains by going miles upon miles each day to build their stamina, as a sprinter this is far from my favorite part. This is a sport where an athlete has to have the will to stay true to a course instead of cutting and cheating themselves the training they will soon need. Cross country is a mentally tough sport, an athlete has to have the mindset that they will be able to go that distance. While in track the athletes also train to build their stamina, it is a different aspect they need it for. This is a sport with no shortcuts, but knowing I pushed myself as hard as possible in those short, intense workouts. Both of these sports consist of lengthy stretching to stay as healthy as possible for the real purpose.

After all of this training, comes the best day of the week which is race day.

Race day will either be filled with one race of a few, very fast miles or a fraction of that in dead sprint. While a track athlete can always count on racing around the oval in track, and never lose sight of the finish line; cross country sees a course of winding hills and trails that can leave me wishing it were track season. No matter the sport, I am running against the clock at the bang of the gun. I always find myself pushing harder and harder to beat not only the clock, but the next girl in front of me. For both of these sports race day is a little different, but it is always the most

important.
On race day all athletes of the sport come together, and meet their competitors before the races begin. While I am running either sport, it is difficult to spot an athlete that I recognize from the other. A high percentage of girls who run cross country, run track as well as I do. Cross country is likely to have huge numbers because there are a million different reasons they could be doing it and it is for everyone. Compared to this track is a different story because there is limited entries, So it is common to find girls who are specialized in what they do, and I am lucky enough to be one of West’s top runners in multiple of those entries. During a cross country race, and sometimes even practice, every athlete cheers each other on. Although we are not on the same team encouragement is necessary to keep a girl believing she can finish that race. Track is a whole different story. The atmosphere is different, it is as though I can feel the intensity in the air. Each meet brings mean looks from other teams, an insane amount of competitiveness, and hoping the best for ourselves; I must sound crazy, but this is one of my favorite parts. During a cross country meet, everyone runs the same distance at the same time, so in total everyone runs to the best of our abilities but is generally the same type of runner. The more diverse sport is track in which girls runs events from 1,600 meters to just 100 meters. Every one of those races is run at a different time and can have multiple heats, leading to be based on more individuality.
Overall, these sports have a small amount in common, but vary widely based on training, races, and people. Track is my favorite sport, I love the diversity and intensity. Cross country is something I enjoy, although it has no comparison to my love for track. The differences in training, races, and people are only the beginning for me, while an outsider would still not even know the difference between the sports.