With January soon approaching, so begins the North Augusta High School Track season. With the Cross-Country season have just concluded, the question of the difference between the sports is raised.
Junior cross-country runner Kierston Thatcher says, “Cross-country focuses on endurance and keeping a steady pace for three miles.”
Aaron Jones, a junior on the NAHS Track team, says, “Cross country is straightforward with running long distance, whereas track has a variety of options to choose from, such as long jump, hurdles, sprints and so on.”
Thatcher says that the cross-country team practices four days a week after school, while increasing their miles each day, in order to prepare for meets.
“The meets are when I have the mindset of never quitting and not letting anybody pass me. When I know ahead what schools will be participating, I will set a goal and pick out the runner I want to beat,” says Thatcher.
Thatcher decided to start running cross-country in preparation for soccer season.
“I enjoy cross-country because it gives me a runner’s high, a feeling of accomplishment. The greatest feeling of beating your time after each meet to know without a doubt your goals are becoming a reality,” she says.
The track team has similar feelings when it comes to meets.
“To me meets are a time where you try your best to achieve a low time while maintaining a good, steady pace (that’s where it can get difficult), and have fun, it gives you a sense of accomplishment,” says Jones.
Jones says that he realized the need to take advantage of all our school has to offer, so he looked at some of his strengths and chose track. He enjoys it because it keeps him active and sets a routine.
Although the sports are very different, both provide NAHS Students with the opportunity to improve their health (both physically and mentally), while growing closer with their peers. To learn more about NAHS Athletics, please visit their website https://northaugustayellowjackets.com/.
Both pictured and photo-credits by Aaron Jones.
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