NEDERLAND - You feel the hot sun burning the back of your neck as you run as fast as you can up a dusty, slippery, steep hill. Your head is pounding, and everything hurts. Yet, you're on top of the world.

All of the hard work you have ever put in has amounted to this moment. You're not only racing the person next to you, but also yourself, pushing to the limit just to beat your last personal record (PR).

You lock eyes with the finish line, and the chaos is intensified as you pick up the pace. You kick until you cross the line and can finally, after a hard, but exhilarating three miles, collapse onto the grass.

This is cross-country racing. 

I have been running cross country for five years. I started the sport in sixth grade because my mom is an incredible and very accomplished runner. Because of this, I thought that maybe I might have had a chance to be decent at it.

To say that I was wrong would be an understatement. 

I was one of the slowest people on the team. I barely tried, and to be completely honest, I hated everything about running. Then the next year, I met one of my closest friends doing cross country.

I realized it is not that bad. I was still the slowest and finished last, or close to last, in all the races that year, but now I actually looked forward to running, to the close community it brings together, the games we got to play, and how we would all go get ice cream after the races. 

When I started high school, I began taking the sport more seriously. It is so freeing to be able to get out of your house and run until your head is cleared.

 Last summer, I trained more than I ever had, and I improved my fastest time from last year by three minutes. This was a big deal for me; anyone who has ever run cross country knows that even a second faster PR is a great achievement. 

This took effort. My biggest piece of advice would be consistency. If you run even one mile each day for one week, the next week you will be able to run two, and if you keep working, eventually three, then four, then so on….  

Everyone has a different experience starting the sport. Nitzana Harkness had always been good at running and was looking to try something new after playing soccer in elementary school. Harkness is a very outdoorsy person and loves running outside, so cross country seemed like the right pick for her. 

While for Amika Begin, she did not start taking the sport seriously until the seventh grade. She also had a deep love for being outside and exercising, and began to fall in love with running.

It really doesn't matter when you start; you could be 8 or 80, but I encourage you to get outside and go for a short run. 

Take advantage of the Colorado trails, the fresh crisp air, and the wildlife. That run could be 200 meters or 10 miles. It doesn't even have to be a run; it can even be a step outside with a hot drink and a deep breath.

The Nederland High School Cross Country season starts on the first day of school, beginning with small, short runs at West Magnolia and up the Eldora Road.

The best part about these training runs is seeing the beautiful scenery and wildlife. Recently while running, I saw two moose lying down in a field, with the backdrop of the gorgeous changing leaves. 

Every single day, I come across another wild animal, often seeing hawks, bears, and even elk. I can confidently say most schools don't get to experience that in their training. 

For some of the runners, training begins in the summer. This entails sacrificing sleep to meet up with the team and run in the mornings. We often meet at popular trails in and around Nederland, such as Caribou, Magnolia, and Mud Lake. 

These summer running meet-ups build a strong team connection, keep the team fit for the season, and help everyone get outside. 

I asked my teammates what their favorite part of the fall season was. Amika Begin said it was “Being a part of a team and being able to push myself.”

Another teammate agreed and said that she likes “being part of a close-knit team.”

I have to agree with my teammates: being part of a team is such a great feeling. Leaving school all at the same time, taking the old, tiny bus with broken air conditioning to a meet, grilling burgers after races, and post-meet cool-down debriefs. 

The team continues to grow even closer, as we spend every Tuesday, Friday, and even some weekends fundraising to take our very first trip down to Arizona for the Nike Regionals race. This will be a new pinnacle for the Nederland team, because we have never traveled further than Colorado Springs before. 

I hope that through this experience we can grow stronger and learn through a unique experience that not many of us have had the chance to take before. It is a competitive race with talented teams from around the country. I get nervous just thinking about it.

The team seems to grow larger each year; currently, we have 12 people—but don't be deterred! This is certainly much bigger than in previous years; for example, last year, the team had a whopping group of eight. 

A small team certainly comes with advantages. We all know each other by name and know how to work together. I asked my mom and coach (Kathy Butler) what some differences were between her high school team of 70 people and our team of 12.

Butler said, “On a big team, you don't know everyone, you don't know your coaches as well, because they have so many people to work with. But as a small team, you can get to know everyone's strengths and weaknesses better, and overall become stronger runners together.” 

She told me that even though a team of 12 may not seem so grand, it surely is much stronger than a large team most of the time. 

A small team is deeply rooted in motivation. Everyone on the team can come together, know each other, push each other, and understand one another. We all know that some races may be harder for some than others, and we can reassure each other to push to great lengths.

Our coaches tell us to stay together, pace with each other, and work hard. If someone on my team passes me in a race, we always congratulate each other and cheer.

Racing is nerve-racking, and this often leads to a great deal of negative talk. Once one person says something bad, it spreads to everyone else. At our last race, coaches Gavin Coombs and Butler sat the team down and explained that negative talk does nothing but devalue everyone around you.

We came up with a new strategy: If you think you want to say something bad, blurt out a random word instead. This works toward bringing the team spirit up, bringing more positivity, and hopefully, leads to a better race! 

Cross country is one of the most difficult sports to get good at. It is not like other activities, where practicing over and over again as much as you can makes you better. In fact, if you run more than you can handle, you will get injured.

When you get injured, you are right back where you were four months ago. One wrong step and suddenly all of the hard work you've done is lost. 

My teammate and 2025 league first-place finisher, Amika Begin, unfortunately experienced this first hand. I asked her what it was like to spend the spring and summer with a stress fracture, and then come back in the fall to win or make top 10 in all of the races.

“It was really hard at first,” she said, “but I biked a lot, both outside and inside, so at least I was still able to do something.” She stated that the most important part of having a running-related injury like this was to take it slow.

She continued, “Over the summer, I got back into running and just slowly started to build up to training again while still biking.” 

I have learned that running is just as much in your head as it is physical. If you tell yourself you can't do something, it truly makes you believe you cannot. 

Colorado is one of the most competitive states for high school cross-country runners, and it really can get to your head. You are surrounded by so many incredible athletes who work unbelievably hard.

Begin said that overall, even without a horrible stress fracture to stop you, “Never give up, no matter what.”

It doesn't matter what stage in your running career you are in—whether that's elementary school field day, your first year of school cross country, your 60th year of the sport, or competitive running—I hope that you start to run, or continue to run, for as long as possible. 

I asked some team members if they had any pieces of general advice for anyone interested in running. 

“Don't eat apples before a race, or you will die.” –  Nitzana Harkness

“It is hard but also worth it.” – Amika Begin

"It is harder at the beginning than it is when you get going.” – Anonymous

 And most importantly, from assistant coach Kathy Butler: “Just give it a try!”