re: Cross Country team = difficult sport. mad respect

well one takes an athlete and the other a thyroid issue

(no message)

quote:

---

Cross Country team = kids that couldnt make it in a real sport

---

You're trying too hard.

Endurance athletes never garner much respect from certain people because they don't "look the part" of an athlete. They are not muscle-bound, stout, and imposing like high-level participants in sports that place a priority on strength and power.

I will grant you that there is lack of versatility involved in cross country or distance running when compared to the hand-eye coordination, flexibility, explosiveness, and strength required of perhaps football or basketball.

However, if it is such an easy sport and usually the non-athletic kids participate in it, then shouldn't every other athlete be able to run consecutive sub 6-minute miles with ease?

Also, I would contend that it is one of the most mentally-challenging and imposing athletic feats imaginable if you are legitimately giving it your best.

Think about it, you are running at anywhere around 90% of your maximum effort (with maxium effort being the fastest pace you could maintain for a couple of laps around a track) for either three miles or five kilometers. That may take anywhere from 14-20 minutes depending on your level of skill. And you're not running on a set track. There are hills to ascend and descend. There are twists and turns to prevent you from ever becoming truly comfortable with your pace and motion. Maintaining a running rhythm is that much more challenging when your running surface is constantly altering.

There is a reason why 90% of people "hate running"...because it's not that easy. We're not talking about a light jog around the LSU lakes, scoping out all of the sorostitutes and the scantily-clad coeds.

(no message)

I've got a couple buds that ran CC one even posts here, but there were also a couple of the guys who weighed 100 lbs who now work for NASA that were good contributing members on the CC team who couldn't beat anyone in a sprint, catch or throw a football, or hit a baseball, etc. IF you can sprint well, to me that shows athleticism, distance running no not so much. It's more of a skill.

quote:

---

IF you can sprint well, to me that shows athleticism, distance running no not so much. It's more of a skill.

---

i cannot begin to fathom your logic. My brother ran CC and now works for NASA...

quote:

---

Don't you mean soccer team?

---

Admittedly, I like to shite on soccer as much as anyone. Also, I do believe that high school soccer or even club-level soccer at the local level is by no means on par with the athleticism displayed in the pros.

However, the coordination skills and endurance demands of soccer are pretty damn grueling when you're not just dicking around with your friends.

The only thing that seems ridiculous is when there's some yahoo quoting a study that reveals that soccer players run anywhere from seven to nine miles during a 90-minute game.

Really? Is that supposed to be that impressive? Elite distance runners would laugh at the thought of averaging a 10 or 12-minute split per mile.

Guess I've seen too many people who were good distance runners who couldn't play any other sports at all so to me if those guys were true athletes they'd be able to do more than one thing at a high level.

quote:

---

two XC athletes come to mind.

1. Valedictorian and Prom King who got a full scholarship to run XC at a DIV I school

2. Moderately talented runner who graduated and then entered into a relationship with the 30 year old HOT female XC coach.


I'd say both guys do not regret being on the XC team

---

The school was 90% white wasn't it?

quote:

---

probably the most in shape kids there are.

---

Aerobically, perhaps. Although, swimmers might have something to say about that.

However, there are multiple components of athleticism, and there are also different energy systems pertaining to certain physical activities.

Speed, power, agility, and strength are some of those aforementioned components. Cross country and endurance athletes are typically lacking in each of these training aspects, because none of them are sport-specific.

An ideal cross-country athlete possesses little body fat and often has much less body mass when juxtaposed with strength athletes. Why? Because it is much more taxing on the body to carry those extra 20-50 pounds over the course of several miles. There would have to be significantly greater work performed because the force output must be adjusted to account for the increase in mass.