Running as One

As the 5 a.m. alarm rings, a heavy hand reaches over to smack the snooze button, not wanting to roll out of bed just yet. The early morning hits hard as they drag out of bed after a Friday night football game to prepare themselves for their race. Cross country is not for the weak. Mental and physical toughness is required, but the team has each other for support and motivation to get through early morning practices and race day adrenaline rushes.

For the White Oak High School cross country team, it’s more than just a sport. It’s a community and family. With two meets under their belt so far, they have learned the value of support and motivation from eachother.

Running Together, Winning Together

“Cross country is probably the closest team I’ve ever been a part of. We care about each other as runners, but, more importantly, we care about each other as individuals and that’s not something you can learn in a practice,” junior Sophie Fisher said. “Every person on our team, including coach, makes practice more than just running, and that’s why I have continued to run all these years.”

Cross country is mostly seen as an individual sport, but the team knows that’s not entirely true. One person’s win and loss is seen as the whole team’s win or loss. For this team, running is less about the times and personal records, and more about the growing bonds when people push through challenges together.

More Than Miles

“During practice me and Niko usually pace with each other. The other day during practice we were running together and he was talking us through and making sure our spirits stayed high,” junior Cooper Tucker said. “Then at about the last two hundred he would warn me by asking me if I was ready and we went as hard as we could to the finish line.”

Moments like this show the camaraderie of cross country, not just the hard workouts and long mileage, but the small ways teammates carry one another through tough times. The bond between runners is built stride by stride and by the quiet encouragement of pushing through fatigue together.

Calm Before The Race

“A team tradition that we do on Friday mornings is we have a Bible study in coach Hutchins room and she makes us breakfast,” freshman Maddie Hart said. “We read some scriptures from The Bible and talk about what we think God is trying to tell us.”
The Friday breakfast has become more than just a time for team bonding, it’s also a time for shared prayers and quiet conversations about the stress for the weekend races. This time is just as important to the runners as the miles they run in the meets. It’s a space where they can open up about struggles, find encouragement in one another’s reflections and leave with confidence that carries them through competition.
Overall, cross country is more than just a sport to the White Oak Cross Country team. It is a family and community. Their success isn’t determined by time or medals, but by the way they encourage each other, and that’s what keeps them running day after day.