What is an XC Meet

Arrival: Upon arriving at the meet, athletes tour the course, warm up, and stretch. School backpacks can
be left on the bus, or carried to the team area at the meet. Most athletes bring a separate athletic
bag with meet clothes, sweats, a water bottle, and athletic snacks such as energy bars and fruit.
Parents are welcomed and encouraged to attend all meets and to support all of our athletes.
What happens at a meet?
The energy of a cross-country meet is infectious and intense, so here is a guide to take you
through a meet.

Team Camp: We arrive at the course and find a location to set up “the camp”. “The
camp” is a place for athletes to relax, converse, stretch, and generally prepare mentally to
race and encourage their teammates.

Warm-up: It is important to know your exact race time so that you can begin your
warm-up at the correct time. Your warm-up should begin about 40 minutes before your
race with a steady jog, followed by stretching or partner stretching, and then with drills
and strides on the starting line. NO ONE SHOULD EVER WARMUP ALONE. Find
your teammates and get together for warm-up. This will ensure that: 1. Everyone is
properly warmed up in time. 2. You feel the support of your teammates. 3. The other
teams will be intimidated knowing that they are going against the “sea of blue.”

Race: When the gun goes off, it’s up to you to race hard for yourself and to help pull
your teammates along. All along the way, your teammates who have already raced, or are
getting ready, will be cheering you on through the race and to the finish.

Chute: As you finish the race, there will be a chute just beyond the finish line, a “ropedoff”
alley that keeps the racers in order after they have finished. Always keep walking
through the chute no matter how tired you are and follow the instructions of the officials
and judges at the finish line.

Cool Down: After you have gone through the finish line, be sure to stay standing and get
some fluids. Then find your teammates and after you have recovered a bit, go for a cool
down jog (20min), and find a good place to encourage your racing teammates as you
finish your cool down stretching. The cool down is very important as it helps remove
lactic acid that builds up in your muscles from the race, necessary for proper recovery