Most students stop running once the required “Monday Mile” for PE ends. Not these athletes; they choose to run 5 kilometers at weekly meets. These are the students who are seen by morning commuters running miles around the school, even before the school day has begun. They run in the heat, humidity, and even sometimes the rain. 

 There are many different reasons the competitors decided to join Cross Country: 

    Junior Slade Harvey joined to “stay in shape for track season,” and similarly, Sophomore Alissa Taylor joined to “get prepared for softball and track.” 

    Despite the different influences causing them to join, most racers focus on one of two things while competing:

     “I think about lowering my times and earning a personal record,”  senior Luke Arias said. 

    Whichever they choose to think about, Cross Country runners push themselves hard to run 3.1 miles at every meet in the Texas Heat.