‘Tis the season of runners shredding through mud and blazing through grass for three gruelling miles. After training all summer long in the heat and humidity, these runners are ready to get their feet wet before they get soaked in racing. They must prepare for the race during the week and before the race. So what happens in preparation for a race during the week, right before, and what happens afterwards?
These things are essential to a runner’s health and condition. Doing a proper warm-up, stretching and cooldown keeps the runners healthy and in good condition. Cole Jackson, head coach of the boys cross country team, provided some insight into why these are necessary for a runner.
“Your body goes through a lot of stress during a workout,” Jackson said. “Letting your body get acclimated or used to that kind of stress can really help an athlete avoid an injury.”
Warm-ups are the first step to getting the body used to the stress that runners go through every day at practice, but vary from team to team. A typical warm-up for a team will consist of several things, but mostly things that focus on the core.
“Our warm-up is pretty simple,” Jackson said. “Pushups, situps and a little bit of mobility drills, nothing that takes more than 10 or 15 minutes.”
These types of warm-ups are the core of a runner, which is also why they are essential and need to be done every day and before every run. After running, it’s very important to have a good recovery, and stretching is a part of this.
“We use a variety of different yoga stretches,” Jackson said. “Eagles, scorpions, rolling hurdle drills, modified hurdle drills, things like that.”
Kailin Bauman, head coach of the girls team, explained why doing these things is essential on the day-to-day and how they pay off come meet day.
“While we do it at practice so that we are prepared to do it for meet day,” Bauman said. “This way, our muscles are loose, so we don’t get strains and injuries.”
Another way to prevent injuries is stretching, and Bauman provides some insight on what type of stretches runners can do and what types are out there.
“We do static cool-downs, and then we do more static stretching,” Bauman said. “So like hamstring holds, quads, stuff like that.”
Senior cross country runner Nathalia Hernandez explained what she does before the race, how it helps her during the race, and what she does afterwards to stay in good health and condition.
“On race days, I always start with fueling my body with water and something that my body will take for the run: bananas, applesauce and graham crackers,” Hernandez said. “That way, I can avoid having side stitches and muscle cramps as I run. Before the run, though, a proper warm-up is necessary to help the body get ready for the muscle work. After my race, I tend to take a moment to recover my breath before I move and get ready to start my cooldown.”
Hernandez explained why warming up, stretching, and having a cool-down are important to all sports, not just cross country.
“Simple things like taking five to ten minutes to stretch your body at the end of a workout keep injuries and soreness away,” Hernandez said. “Same with cooldowns, they keep injuries away and keep the body in check. That way, come race day, our athletes are ready to give it their all without having soreness or injuries to worry about. Basically, it allows you to give it 100%.”
Senior cross country runner Miguel Zarate provides insight into what his typical warm-up on race day is.
“Usually, I start with a five or ten-minute jog,” Zarate said. “Then I go straight into dynamic stretches, you know, lunges, butt kicks, a skips, etc.”
Zarate explains how the warm-up is the most important thing for him.
“The warm-up does help me a ton, more than anything,” Zarate said. “The cool down helps too, just to prevent injuries and me from pulling a muscle.”
