On August 10, an eager upper school cross-country team gathers for their second practice. They sit in the front lobby, talking about moments from past seasons with the new assistant coach, as more members continue to enter and join in. At 8:30 in the morning, when other students are be asleep, instead seniors Axel Burlin and Jack McNabola, juniors Harriet Fardon, Pilar Grover, William Holtz, Audrey Shadle, Chad White, Bella Evan-Cook, Evan Fischer, and Galia Newberger, sophomore Nariah Thimote, and freshman Nathan Sickel are ready to work. For the next two hours, they will be doing various training exercises such as 800 meter interval running, and a longer run of four to six miles.

These exercises will continue nearly every school day for the rest of the season, highlighting the commitment it takes to succeed in this sport. Yet some of the members hold the opinion that cross country does not get the same amount of attention as other sports at Parker.

Despite the demands and lesser amount of recognition, cross-country still draws members back every year. In 2015 the team had 10 members, 2016 nine runners, and this fall there are 13 team members. “It’s a good college opportunity for me,” returning member, captain, second place regional champion, and senior Jack McNabola said. “Long time cross country participation shows colleges that you have continuity and focus. As well as this, there are a handful of college scholarships for running. Also, it’s a really fun sport. It’s hard, but I’m really enjoying the sport so far and I like my teammates and my coaches.”

“I think it is definitely respected as much as other sports, but it’s not the most popular,” Freshman Nathan Siskel, who is new to the team, said. “I can tell by the amount of people who join.” Currently there are 11 members on the team.

“Cross country teams are always a little smaller than the big team sports,” Athletic Director Bobby Starks said, “but what we’ve been trying to do in both track and field, and specifically cross country, is grow those programs, and we’ve seen uptick in the number of student athletes participating in my two years.”

The cross-country team will compete in a series of eleven meets, where they will race against other schools in distance categories. Unlike track and field, cross country focuses on races such as the mile or two mile race. “Thats where the teamwork element comes in again,” Siskel said. “It’s lots of support from your team.”

The theme of teamwork in cross-country is persistent, even if it seems like an individual sport. “I think, partly to get each of the workouts done, if you run it by yourself, it’s hard to be motivated, it’s hard to be focused,” Assistant Coach Caleb Flack said. “If you’re out there with other people, you can try to match their pace and also be motivated by the fact they’re working with you.”

Despite looking like an individual sport, cross country members try to support each other. “The team aspect is, every day you’re training and practicing with your team, and we’re big about creating a nice team culture, no matter which sport it is here,” Starks said. The hope is that a good team with positive motivation can make a world of difference if you’re trying to push yourself with a six mile training run.

The Parker cross country team encourages anyone who is interested to join or otherwise support the team this season.