Crisp fall leaves, fresh outdoor smells, and the thunderous stampede of hundreds of runners lightly thudding the earth, beelining to the woods. It’s bad poetry, but anyone who’s run cross-country before has these potent memories, and can feel it in the air right now.
Cross-country season is in full swing, which means early mornings spent sprawled on the team tarp making dumb jokes and A Part of Hearst Digital Media after running for your life. But it’s not just the runners themselves who have to catch their breath—coaches, parents, and spectators are logging miles too, as the running comedian Laura Green Lightweight Running Shoes.
Her latest Instagram reel is titled “XC Parenting Should Be An Olympic Sport.” Indeed, spectating can be nearly as demanding as competing on a cross-country course. Green expertly demonstrates this in her parody of a parent waiting around for her daughter, “Jessica,” to start her race. She’s surprised when the gun goes off, then high tails it in jeans to another part of the course. “I’m really getting my steps in today,” she says to herself, winded, giving cursory greetings to other parents while speed walking past.
“I feel like I’m gonna pass out,” she says after sprinting to the finish line. Then, eyeing the runners coming through the chute, she worries aloud: “Did I miss her?! Did I miss her?!”
Green’s parody was a follow up to her reel about the high school cross-country coach archetypes—The Football Coach, The Parent Coach, The Old School Coach, The English Teacher, and The Serious Coach. Each has their quirks. The Football Coach wants “to see bows flying and contact the second you enter the woods.” The Parent Coach prioritizes “sportsmanship above all,” and is already “so proud of you.”
The Old School Coach is not one for a pep talk, telling their runners, “You know what to do. I’ll see you at the finish.” The English Teacher is wearing a turtleneck sweater and flowy pants and has to ask “What event is today?” She’ll see you on the bus after the race. “I’m gonna run the entire thing with you,” says The Serious Coach.
While some people—perhaps more accustomed to sitting in a stand with a good view of the field for the entirety of a game—see all that running around as a flaw of the sport, true fans find the experience exhilarating. What other sport is so interactive? When your runner is cresting a monster of a hill or kicking up mud with gritted teeth—you witness your positive encouragement in real-time as their shoulders slacken and hope is renewed.
Running around a cross-country course to support the runners in your life is a bonding experience for parents, coaches, and fans who are runners themselves; those who love their athlete enough to bound around tough terrain Strength Training Guide.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Strength Training Guide, to cheer them on. Cross-country spectators really deserve a medal for their efforts, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
