Which do you like better, cross country or track? I like cross country more.

Cross country. Courses are more interesting, more people in the races, plus I'm all endurance, no speed so I hate short races.

Cross Country therre is nothing like ittt.....then track

Cross all the way! I hate track.

XC has its good side but why focus on endurance in XC? You can always run the 5 and/or 10 on the track as well (of course that wouldn't be that much fun for us middle distance runners either.)

...Track...

i am better at track than i am at cross so ill go with track but i like the team aspect of cross more

.... indoor track? I've liked my years of indoor better than cross country, but I'll admit it (and hang my head in shame) I play lacrosse in the spring (slash after indoor practices that leave me standing in the winter)

INDOOR!

The Llama wrote:

I swore I replied to this post a while back... I think Hoya is deleting my posts again...
jk
Real runner = XC runner.

I don't delete posts... Well, not yet at least...

And a note to your "Real runner = XC runner" statement. I'm shocked! I'm no therapist but I think you need to see someone.


...poor guy. He's lost in a sea of confusion

CROSS COUNTRY

props to track, though

Hoya wrote:

I don't delete posts... Well, not yet at least...

And a note to your "Real runner = XC runner" statement. I'm shocked! I'm no therapist but I think you need to see someone.


...poor guy. He's lost in a sea of confusion

Any football player or soccer reject can join track... they'll take anyone. But Cross Country is for the dedicated PURE runner.
XC is my lifeboat on the ocean of athleticism!!! Meanwhile, the sea of confusion is bounded by a rubberized surface.








PS, my therapist says RUN MORE MILES.

I am all for track, there is an event for every type of runner! Someone who isnt stellar at 5k or an 8k can shine come winter/spring on the circle, and it can be like a handicap, someone with alittle speed can race someone in a shorter race so they are equally matched, like speed 800, distance 800.

better at track, but i like XC more, so im gonna have to go with XC

TRACK, I like the pure speed. Over the hills and through the woods are fun for a casual run, not a race.

XC all the way!!!!!!!!! I hate grinding out intervals on the track.

Track because it is the ultimate equalizer. Everything measured out exactly the same for everyone. Nothing to hide behind, no excuses. Fastest athlete wins period.

XC - the course was long or short or hilly or had too much pavement on it, I got elbowed, boxed in, tripped, took a wrong turn cuz I can't tell red from yellow, blah blah blah.

Track... definitely.

The exiting track event is steeplechase.

Def gotta go with track on this one. Sure, cross country meets are much shorter, but how fun is it to run an 800, a 5k, and a 4x4 in the same day? Good times, that's for sure. You guys have your grass, I'll take the rubberized surface.

Olde English XC. You don't know the exact distance, no prizes at the end. Just you and the trail. It's not the endurance aspect of cross-country that should make it better, because whether it's xc or track you're still running. It's the loneliness, it's the team, it's the cold, it's the heat. Anyone can go out and run on a track. It takes a determined athlete to make it through an xc race.

CC , so much more challngeing, and you got to have the guts too.

Cross Country of course. When else do you get a good excuse to run through mud, creeks, and hills.

TRACK. cross country has its varied terrain, but nothing tops the steeplechase.

I love cross country because it is so team oriented... my high school cross country team had close to 50 people but we felt like a close family, everyone knew each other's name... I think a lot of this comes from the fact that everyone is running the same race. Everyone understands each other. You don't have the sprinters who think you're crazy for running anything over a 400, you don't have the distance runners who think you're crazy for sprinting... anything, all you have is distance guys who understand we're all crazy for the same reasons, and it makes team bonding so easy. That being said, track is the ultimate equalizer. The only variable in track is what lane you run in. In cross country, there's footing issues, hill issues, weird turns, mud, stuff you just don't have to deal with during track. With track, it's legit. It's 100% legit. Everyone runs exactly the same thing. So if I were asked what I'd rather run, XC or track, I'd say track. If I were asked whether I'd like to be on the XC team or the track team, I'd say the XC team.

Track is much better because you always know where you are in the race and how much more you have to run. It really helps with pacing unlike in XC where it's hard to judge where you are.

Tough to say. Depends on what mood I'm in as to which is my favorite.

I like cross-country because of the closeness of the team, which isn't something you get in track, and the races are more fun, because you're running all over the place, up and down hills, through the mud and on all sorts of terrain. They're something to enjoy for their toughness rather than their speed and consistency.

I like track races better than anything, though. Track is all about speed. No hills, turns or potholes to mess you up, just one nicely even and flat circle to focus on going as fast as you possibly can for 1500 meters or 5000 meters. Nothing beats a good track race.

i like both... but if i had to pick it deffinitly be track. but near the end of a long track season nothing is better then getting on some trails and mud

samdrewalex wrote:

First - whatever racing season it is, that's the one i love the most.
Second - if i had to choose, it would be track. Track is much more difficult than XC. XC has downhills, hillcrests, corners, and other spots where you can 'take a break' if you need to. You can go into a wooded section and hide from the crowd.

Track is my favorite because there's no hiding, it's unrelenting, you're under a spotlight - the intensity is unmatched. You have to focus perfectly and you'll hurt ridiculously if you do, and the best part is - you know it's coming. Track doesn't lie - a certain amount of meters, a watch and your place.

Third - i'm not a team guy. i run by myself, for myself and track can have less of a team aspect to it. However, the beauty of track is that it brings together different types of people and hopefully everybody gains from it. i like throwers and sprinters and track trips were always fun from a social standpoint. XC is just a bunch of runner dorks being dorks together and not something i enjoy.

Why do you even bother to do cross-country then?

of course xc. xc owns track anyday

CROSS COUNTRY!!!

I got nothing against track, but I gotta go with XC.
XC is just more spontaneous and fresh each time than track, thanks to the varying courses. Having to adapt to each course every race is both challenging and exhilarating.

Let's not hate on each other's sport, track and XC runners....

Yep... I have to admit, I like both too. I did pretty well in XC but enjoyed Track more. I used XC to get in shape for Track...

jake_H12 wrote:

cross-country really does have more heart and soul put into it, it's more about determination, it takes more mental strength to be able to give it your all that last 200 meters after battling it out with another competitor the whole race. your have to be able to tell yourself that you can get through it all and just push your body to the limit.

That's a pretty bold statement there - "cross-country really does have more heart and soul put into it..." - I wouldn't say that. There are many XC running that can be done at a jog too. A race is a race and if you're willing to give it your all then any race will wipe you out.

Track. I have never hurt more or felt like more of a badass than after finishing a good 800.

there is nothing better than finishing a race covered in the course. XC is the purest harbor to the true spirit of the runner. Quentin Cassidy may have dubbed it the sport for animals, and as so i welcome the challenge of being more beast than man, XC gives the opportunity to shed outer hindrances and race through the natural surroundings like a banchee... XC!!!

track all day i love my 800 and 4by4

guitarman182 wrote:

Which do you like better, cross country or track? I like cross country more.

running is the most natural sport there is, no one can argue with that. I like both, but I think XC preserves that pureness.

PEACE OUT,

I don't know about anybody else, but I love xc until I'm burnt out and want nothing more than track. Then I love track, until I'm burnt out on it and I want xc. They both require determination and hard work, they are brother sports... you can't have one w/o the other

track is a warm-up for cross.

GO XC!

im with hoya on track being better-i do xc to get in shape, but I'm going to take it more seriously my senior year-the last few years sucked

Word.

i love cross because it's all about being tougher than the next guy. comparing times doesn't mean as much, it's all about going out and proving yourself, not running to break a time.

haha...a distance runner most likely would say X-country...but hey... i am a sprinter and a jumper that was bullied into XC... TRACK ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!
XOXOX
PS> SPRINTERS ROCK!!!

XC is a real mans sport. Its ten times better than track. Dont get me wrong; track is still an excellent sport but xc is deffinitly better.

I like the XC courses where you finish around a track.

XC

Hoya wrote:

TRACK
TRACK
TRACK

I just like running... but I haven't had a full track season in three years... so since Cross treats me nicely and I love hills and the terrain changes and pushing past my limits I have to go with Cross Country. Even though the steeple chase is the coolest race here on earth.

Oh there is so much more. Have you ever run in the pouring rain or a sheet of ice. That is XC and that to me signifies a die hard runner one who doesn't just run or race in the nice weather in a controlled environment like on the track. I just like all the variables to deal with in a race.

XC for sure but i do like the multiple events aspect and two day long meets in track and also watching my teamates run.

track

cross country, different courses, more relaxing, teamwork, running on grass, less events, long runs. I also like track because of short distance and speed work.

XC!
You have your xc family, you get all the fresh air you want, no sprinters that complain because they can't run over a mile, you don't get as many injuries, you got your mud and free food, what else do you need, track makes me feel like I'm trapped and I can't go anywhere, I have to stay between these two lines or I'm DQed, I can't really go anywhere and have to stay for the whole meet which lasts for hours, you don't get your mud and when it rains the whole track is flooded. NO point to running in the rain, you don't get to know people as well and there is no camp to go to. I will run any event my coaches stick me in but my heart is in xc, I just don't get into track, I don't get why it is so short and they expect you to do so many races in a little amount of time.

XC! it is so much better! way more exciting and adventurous. i also like the intense aspect. way more fun than track. love the long runs, plus i have good endurance and im better at cross.

i mean what other sport can you push someone into bushes or thorn bushes or trees and get away with it..xc all the way i love the hills and the whole outdoor aspect

i like xc more it shows the true runner. also it shows who can push and punish themselves.

gotta go track...i find big track meets more intense than big x-country meets becuase people are constantly cheering for you in track while in x-country in most occasionns they cant even see you....i also like relays and waxthing my teammates run...and my big thing against cross country is you can run a faster time on one couse compaired to another but say its a worse race becuase the previous course was much easier....in track you can straight up compare times..and i actually enjoy long meets

Mahgeetah wrote:

Track by a landslide.Nothing is better then watching the 4x4 even though im not a sprinter. Cross country is pretty boring to watch unless its the end of the race. I just find watching pure speed more enjoying than watching a 5k.

yea i find few races over 1 mile enjoyable to watch....now the 4x1, 4x4, 4x8 are almost always good races

Cross Country.

Track has my serious respect though. Just not as fun to me or motivating. Motivation plays a huge part in the races I run, and my every day work out rutines. Running a sprint as fast as you can with nothing focused just bores me, not to mention just drains you.

I personally think there are more things in a runner than speed or clocking your time down and marking every split. Not that track doesn't require determination, but it's a whole different level of it in XC. It's not over in seconds, or in a few minutes...you have to learn how to channel any pain you're feeling into motivation for you just to keep going the last couple miles. This requires alot of mental strength not every fast person has. You have to motivate yourself just to finish, not just to do it fast. In both events you train your body to be able to run faster, but in XC you also train your mind to become something totally different.

Besides. I feel like a cursed mouse in a exercise wheel when I run circles around a track...

Hmmmm.. that's a toughie.. I use xc to get endurance for the 400 in track.. but I use track to get speed for xc..During cross country season I want nothging more than to go to a track meet.. During track I constantly want to run a trail, to go back to doing miles upon miles of workouts..I like the team of "family" feeling of xc, but you can also get that feeling on a 4x4 team..But at the same time I like kind of warming-up, and getting ready for a race on your own, with the headphones on, listening to your favorite song preparing for your race..I'm better at track but I'm improving a lot in cross country..

I CAN'T CHOOSE!!

outrunthepanda wrote:

haha I'm with you there.....


Track is so defined, so elegant and perfected for perfection.....

Cross Country is so rough and rugged and tough.....

Track has wonderful consistency because you don't have to worry about roots/mud/trees....

Cross Country is great because "roots/mud/trees" is what mixes it up.....

Track you get to watch others run their races....

Cross Country you get to run with them....

Tracks are pretty much the same everywhere you go, which is nice....

Cross Country is different everywhere, which is interesting.....





THE BATTLE NEVER ENDS!!!!!

I'm going with Cross Country hands down. As much as I love how easy it is to get in a rhythm in track, its not stop turning left. Cross takes more dillegence.

And nice sn... looks familiar. ;)

who is Hoya?

iRUNBARC wrote:

CROSS COUNTRY ALL THE WAY TRACK IS FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE AFFRIAD TO RUN

?

Cross Country there nothing like getting lost for a few hours in a Long run

well said

I don't think track is for people who are affraid to run at all. I think track is just better for people who are great sprinters(not like me). Cross country is more of a sport that any one can do though. Football, basketball, and other similar sports are great to do with cross country. You couldn't take a basketball or football or soccer player and put them in track and expect them to be the best. Cross country also has more people competeing. So if you end up near the back is wouldn't bother you as much cause there are people around you. In track though there aren't many people, so if you come in second to last or last, it hits you hard.

I think the races on the track are a lot funner and I just love the middle distance races they are so awesome especially the 800 lol and the 200 kicks butt too. Cross country is still fun and helps your endurance tremendously but I still have to go with track.

I was talking about Llama's message in the message that i posted above this one! ^^^
Just so ppl know lol and are not wondering

cross.. track is to boring just running in circles

maybe but i have never liked track tho so i still say cross

XC is great you get a good team feel, but when it comes down to it, there is nothing better then trying to pull yourself of the track after a hard work out. So Ihave to go with track as a slight edge over cross

Cross country is more fun i think in high school. During the 2 mile race in track it gets really boring. Running a cross country course doesnt seem as long b/c theres more stuff to see then just running in circles 8 times.

I agree with people who generally run the 2 mile on a track that it could get very repetitive and cross country's elements can take away that boredom; so the majority of distance runners will prefer cross country. But the majority of sprinters or middle distance will prefer track becuase thats where their speed comes into play. Running in circles doesn't become bothersome if you run less than a mile because you running 2 laps or less on an outdoor track.

XC

I agree with everyone. I'm a senior in high school so I know a lot about track and xc.
XC is better if you like hanging with your friends on saturdays and playing football on
fridays before a meet :). But track is where your times reflect how good you are. An xc course can be 100-300m long, yes I have raced on courses that were 300m over 3.1 before.
Also courses can be hilly, uneven, they made you run through tall grass. But in track its
just you, your team, the other team, and a flat, smooth track, 400m.

Haha. This is kinda funny. I started this post a loooooooooong time ago on my old R2w account which I stopped a long time ago (guitarman182) lol.

Well, look how far it's come haha.

I still stick with XC over track.

Definitely cross country! I absolutely love Cross! It is my favorite thing to do is run!


I love the different surroundings in cross and in track you just go around in circles.
I guess i also like it since we have won every meet this season except one. I have got a lot of medals from running.

Also whats the deal with people liking football so much I mean you dont get medals in football!!!! People make fun of you if you run and they think it is crap, but if something big happened in football it'd be a big deal!!!!!


I AM A CONFERENCE CHAMPION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

deffinately cross country. track gets kinda boring running in circles all day. and i think in cross country you bond more as a team because youre all in the same event not all split up

I originally posted that I like that better, but after this past xc season, I would have to say cross country. I think whether you like track or cross country more depends on how well your xc team is bonded. My freshmen year of xc wasn't that great, but I still had a fun time. But this past xc season was great because our team was so close, plus, we placed well at almost every meet. That made it a lot more enjoyable. But if I didn't have teamates like I had, I would choose track.

XC is just better.

I am great in track and then i am still good in XC. Though I would have to say I like XC more because of all the interesting courses and all the people and you travel alot. XC ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!

Theres XC relays over ere! Plenty of them to start season off...

I always ask myself when people mention on how much of a team sport XC is compared to track, do you guys just not try and win meets or do well in relays during Indoor and outdoor? Or people who say their team mates are so much better in XC, at least where I run the majority of the good runners run 2 if not all 3 seasons. Also for people who say ALL you do in track is run in circles all I have to say is maybe you shouldn't do your long runs on the track. If you don't then you either do way to many races + intervals on the track.

Cross Country in all aspects.

No doubt.

Sirbek wrote:

try 7.5 laps with a bunch of barriers,
or 12.5 laps, or 25 laps
thinking man's races

"thinking man's races"? I hope you're not implying that the steeple, 5k and 10k are men's races. I'll hold on the feminist rant, but I'll just say that the incredible toughness and guts it takes for these races does not automatically imply masculinity. If it does, then all those people I always thought were women tearing up the track in those races have been very good at deception.

I like XC better because I can make a right turn.

track!!!
xc practice is more fun for me because we dont have to listen to our track coach(he talks for like days about nothing)...but you cant beat the racing in track.

XC and Track both have their positives and their negatives. I'm sure at least 50% of us (but probably more) have participated in both and I should hope this means that we have found the positives in both.

Cross country is nice because theres no particular time set in stone creating a hierarchy in the running community. There's not as much shouting of splits... successes and "failures" are not measured by some arbitrary number. How you feel about yourself before, during, and after a particular race determines your success. It's just you, a pair of spikes, and the trails. Track is nice for the complete opposite reason. The clock never lies. The clock is there to keep us on our feet. It tells us if we've taken a step forward, or if we've gone backwards. First place, or last place...in track you will always know exactly where you measure up against yourself.

I think it's important to listen what your heart tells you about a race(XC), but also have a way to give yourself a clear perspective, or a reality check(Track)... I need both.

But with that being said: So for now I'm going to go with TRACK! Ask me again in October and I'll have a different answer.

Run fast, turn left, repeat!... and enjoy it!

Ill have to go with XC. I like the longer distance and the endurance part of it all. The training is better and the team is more of a family than a track team. In XC your running for each other when in Track you still are but it does not feel like it as much. And running in a circle for a 16 or a 32 its not as fun as a 5K on a nice course that changes and is not flat all the way and the same thing. So for sure XC is a lot better. Track is off season training for XC.

if XC is so good then why are there two seasons of track?... track ftw.

persoally, track. but only b/c during xc season i'm on a soccer club team.

Strider1

Sirbek wrote:

It's kind of funny to read all of the opinions for XC based on how XC is longer, you just know they are HS runners(I'm not looking down my nose or anything). I can't help but think, just wait till you race a good 5k on the track!
I remember when I got my PR in the 5k I was clipping off 69s like it was my job(I wish). I was thinking, d@mn! I can do this all night. Then after 2 miles I realized I was wrong... Track is for the split junkies, those of us that get drunk off of nailing a pace. Also, as it's always been said, the 5k is the thinking man's race.

i did notice that. more of the younger runners like xc. maybe ADD? nah...i guess preferences DO change depending on your age and experience in running.

XC, track always seems boring because u only run in a little area all the time for races.

same here trying to have another great season in XC this year.

I would say XC right now, but idk because as a high schooler, you only experience about half of an actual track meet. I'm sticking with xc for now though.

Cross Country. I love it - the courses are great and its more scenic. I live for xc. In track its just 2, 4 or 8 Laps of the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I like track too. But cross country definitley takes the cake.

I just started cross country a couple of weeks ago and its way funner. All you do in track is run around the track. In cross country, you can go as far as you want!

Def. Track..but XC doe have it's pros

hafcomet wrote:

This message has been deleted by: hafcomet. On: Jul 26 2011 8:47PM

Somebody's a little irritated.