Picture a quaint trail. The world seems to be waking from its slumber. The birds begin to chirp through the brisk air, the grass is damp, soon to be dried off by the rising sun. Close your eyes. Breath in the morning air. Most people are just starting their days, but not you, you’re jogging through this picturesque morning, listening to the symphony of nature, or perhaps the most played song on your music player.

This is the average morning of a cross country runner. Do not protest, I know I have left out the aching muscles and constant gasps for air, but how could you expect such beauty without obstacles?

The cross country team sure doesn’t. Nearly every morning students wake up early in to warm their bones with practice.

“Practice usually starts with around a 10 minute jog, then warmups and stretches,” senior James Chard said. “Some days we have special practices where we train on hills, or run thousands (1000 meter laps that are timed).”

Chard joined the team as a freshman with the goal to stay in shape, not wanting to partake in another year of football. The cross country team became a sportual oasis for Chard, who remained on the team for his entire high school career. Chard felt that practices, while tiring, left a “feeling of accomplishment” – an assurance that each day of practice made him faster and stronger.

“Talking to my teammates while running at practice is probably the best part,” Chard said. “They are really fun guys and make my morning.”

Chard posted a time of 19:33 at the Cedar Park meet on Sept. 19.

Senior Max Scheffer joined cross country due to his passion for running. After running a meet and once his physical exhaustion wears away, he feels proud.

This is Scheffer’s third year on the team and has his pre-race routine cemented: showing up a little before the race and warming up to be ready to run for two hours, if need be.

Sheffer ran a time of 22:09 at the last meet.

One doesn’t need a strong passion for running to be a part of the cross country team. Senior Shawn Murray is a member of the boys’ varsity team without having it on his schedule. Murray practices completely outside of the school to stay in shape for soccer. Murray runs on the team, not because he has to, but rather because he wants to.

“Cross country is very valuable to me,” Murray said. “It allows me to stay in shape for soccer season while improving my speed and endurance.”

Murray ran with a time of 20:22 at the Cedar Park meet.

The last two meets have not been kind to the team. McNeil placed 21/25 at the St. Andrews meet, and 26/33 at the Cedar Park meet. Chard chalks up the performance at the Cedar Park meet to th

e rough terrain.

“There was a bunch of hills and cracks in the ground,” Chard said. “Then, the course bottle-necked into a forest, which led to a lot of runners tripping and getting hurt.”