This weekend, Fordham’s cross country team will compete in the Atlantic 10 Championship in Cedarville, Ohio, hosted by the University of Dayton. The team will depart on Thursday and take a plane to the competition in order to race Saturday morning. The women’s team will be racing a 6K and the men’s team an 8K, which is standard practice. The rest of the track and field team will send off our teammates when they leave Thursday, wishing them luck at their competition. Soon, they’ll transition back into competing on the track, rather than the course.

Although far less exciting than cross country’s championships, this week marks the official start of track and field season. Now, our team can practice up to 20 hours per week, which means we have practice six days a week for the rest of the school year. We already practice five days a week (three of which we also have team lift following practice), but this extra day of practice is a big adjustment. As a team, we have renewed our focus on group stretching and recovery to prevent injury. However, in general I would recommend everyone starts their day with 10 minutes of stretching; it’s a great way to wake up and seize the day.

Maybe it’s the leaves starting to change, or the temperature dropping, but there’s definitely something in the air. Soon enough we will be racing again. There’s an energy that I haven’t felt before going into this season, even in my fourth year of track. It might be because I’m finally in my senior year and it’s my last chance to prove myself on the track, but I think there’s more to it than that. As a team we’ve been pushing ourselves farther than before in team lift, hitting personal bests and maxes in almost every session. On the track, we’ve been building up our speed and endurance, running our first workout in spikes earlier this week. We’re going to start working on our block starts this week as well. In general, I’ve noticed people going the extra mile as well: group ab exercises post-practice, extra stretching and an effort to participate in team activities outside of practice.

I think it’s the mark of a successful team to do these little things. Group study sessions at the library may not seem like much at the moment, but it can be a lot easier to do the harder stuff by practicing all around good habits. Also, when you spend more time with your teammates off the track, it is reflected at practice. Track is not strictly a team sport in the way that baseball or soccer may be, but it’s far easier to get through a hard workout when you know you’re surrounded by people that support you and have your back. It also pays off to build trust so when you’re completing a blind handoff during the 4x100m relay at A-10s in the spring, you know it will go smoothly.

Overall, I think our team has a great season in store. Practice is one thing, but the reason we show up every morning is for the chance to race, and not only to race, but to win.

I’m excited for what’s to come, and hopefully after a successful weekend for our cross country team, we’ll be ready to get to work on the indoor track and have a fantastic winter season.