OXC Handbook

Train Smarter, Try Harder, Live Stronger

A cross country handbook has been created to give you clear expectations of our team. The purpose of this handbook is to help runners reach their full potential as students, athletes, and role models.

COACHES

Alison (Al) Triebenbach – Head Coach, 320-260-9420, atriebenbach@osakis.k12.mn.us.  Please save my number in your phone and if you need to contact me via text message, leave your name in the message.  

 - Assistant Coach,  

Website: www.osakisxc.com – will serve as the hub for information (schedule, results, meet info, calendar, etc).  There’s also links to the twitter page (@OsakisXC) and the OsakisXC facebook page for more current info, media links, and photo/video.

WHY CROSS COUNTRY?

Cross Country provides the opportunity for individual and team accomplishments. Many students will join the program for different reasons. Some will use it as a way to stay in shape for other sports.  Some will join because their friends are involved. Some desire a close-knit team atmosphere.  Some like being in control of their own destiny; knowing that their effort will translate directly into improvement. For whatever motivation a student athlete may have to join Osakis Cross Country, we welcome all who wish to work hard and improve.

Being a part of such a sport, a student can become more qualified in terms of college acceptance.  Colleges want well-rounded students, and many of the attributes required to be a cross country runner (great work ethic, determination, ability to persevere) are what colleges are looking for in their prospective students. We often come in contact with college coaches and recruiters during our Invitational meets. It is not uncommon for local colleges to offer financial assistance to athletes who are above average in both academics and running ability. 

WHAT IS CROSS COUNTRY?

Cross Country is a fall sport that involves running on a wide variety of terrains such as wooded trails, across fields, on golf courses, up hills & down hills. Races can also be run in the rain and even snow.  The race distance will vary from 3000m to 5000m, but for Conference/Section/State sanctioned meets, the varsity girls and boys will compete in 5000m (3.1 mile) races.  At some meets the runners may be split into different races based on their grade and experience level.  Races will vary in size, generally more than 50-60 runners, but some meets as big as 300 runners.

There is both a team and individual component to Cross Country.  The object is to finish the race as fast as possible.  For the team, scores are based on the finishing places of the student athletes.  Each place is given an amount of points.  The object is to get as few points as possible. The lowest possible score in Cross Country is fifteen. In the race, the first place finisher is scored as 1 point, second place is 2 points, and so on and so forth. Scores are added from the top five finishers of each team even though teams have seven running in varsity and an unlimited number in other divisions.  So if you have a large gathering of athletes where there are 150 runners or more, it’s not uncommon to see team scores well over 100 points.

Example 1:

Teal Team placed 1 2 7 9 10 11 13 (team score = 1+2+7+9+10=29)

White Team placed 3 4 5 6 8 12 16 (team score = 3+4+5+6+8 =26)

Team White wins 26-29

Example 2:

Black Team 1 4 5 7 11 12 13 (team score = 1+4+5+7+11 = 28)

Gray Team 2 3 6 8 9 10 14 (team score = 2+3+6+8+9 = 28)

When there is a tie in cross country you go the 6th place runner. The team who has the best 6th place finish wins.  So in the above example the winner would be the Gray Team because their 6th runner place 10th where as the Black Team's 6th runner finished 12th.

At the Section Meet, the top two teams with the lowest point total will move on to the MSHSL State Cross Country Meet.  Also, the top 8 individuals NOT part of a team that is advancing to the State Meet will also earn a trip to the State Meet.  At the State Meet the individuals running without their teams will not factor into the team scoring but will receive recognition based on where they finish.

SUCCESS

Success is NOT measured in terms of trips to State, Championships, Awards, or Medals.  Osakis Cross Country considers success to be:

Complete Effort—Trying your hardest, and not being satisfied with anything less regardless of your time or place.  

Dedication—Buying into the training and being driven to complete it.  This includes doing the things necessary when no one is watching: stretching, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, doing your workouts when there isn’t practice, rehabbing injuries, making smart life choices, and being a good student.

Improvement—Measuring your individual success by comparing where you were at the beginning of the season to where you are at the end. Improvement will occur both physically and mentally.  If everyone focuses on improving, the TEAM will improve.

Grit— Grit is the long-term focus necessary to have a successful career as an Osakis Cross Country athlete.  Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having mental stamina. Grit is sticking with the plan, day in day out, not just for the week, not just for the month but for years, and working very hard to make that future a reality. Grit is acknowledging that failure will happen and needs to happen, but it happens so lessons can be learned and performance can improved based on what was learned. This translates to Cross Country in how you, and your teammates, overcome obstacles, setbacks, and challenges.  Keeping perspective that our focus is on where we finish at the end of the season, and you might not see meet to meet improvement, but each race will provide us a learning moment for the next.  

Camaraderie—the tight bonds you form with your teammates.  Being available and dependable to your teammates and coaches.  Creating the team environment necessary to achieve and develop the elements of success listed above.

If these elements are present, the trophies, awards, and trips to State will be a byproduct.  Most importantly, these attributes will carry over to success in all other aspects of your life.

TEAM-FIRST

Cross Country is unique in that it combines both very tangible individual and team components.  Everybody is training for the same event.  All workouts, though individualized to some extent, are similar and done together.  While we want and expect the student athletes to have individual goals, it is most important to achieve them within a TEAM framework.  If as a team we support one another in our individual goals, we will achieve success as a team.

Team-building exercises such as fun outings, group long runs, and team dinners will provide a setting to learn from, contribute to, and support one another. 

Student athletes are strongly encouraged to stay for the completion of their teammates’ races, and travel to and from with the team.  While, we understand extenuating circumstances exist, please keep in mind that the TEAM needs, and expects, YOUR support.  If you must leave prior to the completion of a meet it can only be with a parent, and the parent must sign you out with the coach.

PRACTICE

Begins on August 12th, 2024, we will meet in the lobby outside the locker rooms.  Practice location will vary depending upon the workout day.  

Practice will be from 3:15pm to 5:15pm prior to School Beginning and once school.

We will have some Saturday practices.  We will, occasionally, travel to a specific place for a scenic run on Saturdays.

We do allow kids who are going to miss practice the option to make up that practice if they contact the coach prior to missing the practice.  There’s a missed practice form on the website that must be filled out and the absence from practice will be deemed excused.

REQUIREMENTS TO COMPETE

In order to compete in a cross country meet a student athlete must:

• Be academically eligible; not failing in any of their classes

• Attend at least 8 practices before their first competition

• Have paid their athletic fee

• Have their required physical, within the last 3 years

• Have their eligibility forms in

TRAINING

Training for 5000m races requires working multiple energy systems combined with strength and flexibility training.  This training will increase the student athletes general fitness, strength, and flexibility.  Student athletes that participate in Winter and/or Spring sports will see benefits in their endurance, prevention from stress-related injuries due to our focus on strength and flexibility, and be better prepared at the outset of their seasons when other athletes have to “get in shape.”  

Ultimately, success in any running-related sport comes down to consistency of training.  This means being able to stay healthy and training for long periods of time.  Fitness is cumulative—the longer you can consistently train, the more you are able to develop.  Setbacks detract from your fitness, thus our training program will be to prevent injury, continually motivate, and progress on the volume and intensity of the training.  The goal is to always be training at some level during your high school career.  There should be no more than 2 weeks after each season where an athlete isn’t doing some running or aerobic fitness on a regular basis.  Many student athletes will transition into Winter and Spring sports that will suffice, but those that do not, should continue their training.  As the program evolves, as the student athletes develop, running during the Summer will be vital to their progress.

Training will be performed in groups of similar abilities.  During the first weeks of the season the coaches will make the determination of which training group is best for a particular athlete.  This only pertains to the running workouts, most of practice, the entire team will be training together.

Focus is on running minutes, not miles.  Research has shown that it is the time elapsed at a particular pace that creates the most aerobic gains, not the distance traveled.  As the season progresses, runs of various types will get longer.  Every 10 days there will be a “long run.”  For some this might be 30 minutes, others, up to 60 minutes.  

Training throughout the season is a progression.  Early focus is on increasing the amount of running we are capable of doing, to a progression to increase the intensity of the running, to finally pulling back on the amount of running and increasing the intensity to “peak” the runner for the desired end of season performance.  Under this training philosophy, the student athlete may not see improvement meet to meet, as the body adapts to the stresses differently.  We will focus on “peaking” for the Section meet.

Aerobic Development—will combine runs that will vary from recovery (relaxed, conversational pace) , threshold/tempo runs at a longer sustained pace, to aerobic power workouts in shorter intervals aimed at increasing the student athlete’s aerobic capacity (i.e. fitness).  Progression runs where the focus is to run the last half faster than the first half of the run will be utilized to increase mental focus and finishing kick.  This energy system is the base we build our peak from, and is main focus the first 7 weeks of the season.  

Anaerobic Development—will combine intervals and repetitions at faster than race pace to develop the body’s lactate tolerance to continue to run strong while fatigued.  This energy system is utilized at the end of a race, and we stress the ability to stay relaxed, keeping correct form, and showing grit to create a strong finishing kick.  Workouts will be designed for a high quality effort, many of which will be performed on the track in high intensity sessions.  Much of the focus of the last 3 weeks of the season will be on this energy system. 

Speed Development—will progress from proper running form to a focus on specific speed.  While the common stereotype is that Cross Country is about long, slow, distance, in actuality, Cross Country is a very athletic sport.  Speed development is key to finishing races and making mid-race surges.  In order to develop speed, we focus on proper running mechanics, learning to relax the body to allow more speed while fatigued, and building strength and flexibility necessary to create and utilize power.  Much of the early speed development is tied to hill training to build strength, and later in the season we move to the track for faster intervals.  While it is true most cross country athletes aren’t going to be as fast as a 100m/200m sprinter, it is very common to see them develop the long sprint speed endurance comparable to a 400m runner.  In fact, in Track, many 4x400m teams include a distance runner or two.

Strength Development—will combine both traditional (weight room) lifting with core and general strength exercises to aid in helping the student athlete hold their form under fatigue and help prevent stress-related injuries.  We will progress from general strength training to strength training specific to the student athlete.  We will incorporate lifts that will help multi-sport athletes develop strength for their other sports.  The focus will always be on proper technique.  Plyometrics will also be incorporated to develop athleticism and explosiveness needed to handle hills, obstacles, and make moves at the end of races.

Flexibility Development—will cover both dynamic (movement based) and static (stationary) stretching to increase a student athlete’s range of motion to help prevent injury by creating more efficient running form.  Many different routines will be used to focus on the hip, shoulder, and lower leg flexibility required to get the most out of the other systems we are training.  Barefoot running will be used to build strength and flexibility in the Achilles tendon, a key to preventing lower leg injuries.

Mental Toughness—an often under-looked element of distance running, but the most important, is training the mind to push the body’s limit.  We will spend much of our training at building a student athlete’s self confidence and willingness to push themselves through discomfort.  The TEAM will serve as a large support system for encouraging one another to explore his or her individual limits.  Unique exercises, such as visualization, will be used to enhance an athlete’s control over his or her response to fatigue.  If developed properly, the gains made in mental toughness will impact all aspects of the student athlete’s life.

SUMMER TRAINING

In the appendix attached to this handbook is a description of suggested summer training.  How much you run in the summer directly impacts where you will finish in the fall.  The main goal is to get SOME running in, and do it consistently.  The training plan gives suggested options.  The idea is that you get out the door on a consistent basis, and progress your runs/workouts over the course of the summer.  Getting together with other Cross Country athletes on a regular basis is a good idea, as it keeps you honest and gives you people to run with. It is also a good idea to get in a few road races over the course of the summer, but keep to the 5k distance, at most.  This gives you something to train towards and allows you to see the results of your training.  

While Summer training is NOT required, it is necessary to be successful, and will supplement training for other Winter/Spring sports.  As with most elements of Cross Country training, the student athlete gets out what he or she puts in; if a lot of time is spent training, there’s more of a base to build off during the season.  10 weeks is a short period of time to “get in shape” in addition to specific Cross Country training, thus coming into the season prepared will set the student athlete up for success in all of their sports for that year.  

MEET DAY

On meet days it is expected that the student athlete bring the proper gear to compete, this includes weather appropriate attire (if the forecast is cooler, bring additional layers, hat, gloves etc).  The student athlete should also bring a water bottle for hydration and healthy food/snacks for before and after the competition.

The meet routine will include a warm up and cool down run, which is crucial to the student athlete’s performance and recovery.  If a parent/guardian is taking his/her student athlete home, the student athlete MUST complete their cool down prior to leaving.  We prefer the team to go through warm up and cool down together.

EQUIPMENT

The following equipment is necessary to train successfully and prevent running related injuries:

Shoes - We recommend going to a store that deals primarily with running equipment or that has an experienced runner as their salesperson. Things you should you pay attention to when buying a new pair of shoes:

• It helps to buy a good training shoe. The shoe should feel good on your feet.  It is not necessary for you to get the most expensive one to run.  As for cheap shoes, there is a reason they are cheap. They can cause more problems than it is worth. Your feet take the most abuse in running so remember the old saying “you get what you pay for”.  

• You treat your running shoes the same as you do when buying regular shoes.  Make sure you have some room at the tip of your shoe. In the shoe fitting world it is recommended to leave a space the width of your thumb between the top of your toe to the end of the shoe. This allows some room for growth and helps with any foot swelling from a hard run.

• Always designate a pair for your training and another for racing.  Racing spikes will be used in workouts, occasionally.  These shoes should be keep separate from ones used for other activities. With all the running you can go through a pair very quickly. I strongly recommend a new pair of running shoes at the beginning of every new season. Your racing shoes will last a little longer, so those will probably only need to be replaced when outgrown.

• Racing shoes for Cross Country are spikes (can be called flats, or waffle flats), but they are a little heavier than track spikes and offer more support for a longer distance.  Websites like Eastbay.com have a great selection and can offer fit advice, but buying from a running store where they can fit you in person is preferable.  Often time’s spikes can be purchased for as little as $20.  Pay attention to the designed purpose of the spikes…as not all spikes are the same.  There is a difference between spikes designed for distance races and those used by sprinters.

• DO NOT PURCHASE MINIMALIST SHOES THAT CLAIM TO SIMULATE BAREFOOT RUNNING, SUCH AS THE NIKE FREE.  These shoes are designed for very experienced runners, or athletes not seriously training.  Young athletes need support, the added weight does not inhibit them, it protects them from inefficiencies in their stride.  If the shoe is light and flexible, it is not suitable for general training.

Clothing - Uniforms are checked out to each athlete at the beginning of the season to use during school meets and Saturday Invitational’s. For practice a t-shirt and running shorts are fine. Clean, dry socks are important for prevention of blisters, fungus, and other foot ailments that can occur. Athletes should be prepared for colder weather as the season progresses.  Hats, gloves, long sleeves, and pants can be necessary at times.  We train outside exclusively, so prepare for the conditions.  Uniforms are to be turned in at the end of the cross country season.  Should the jersey or shorts be lost during the season the runner is responsible for the replacement cost of the item.  The coach will advise you of the cost.  

Water Bottle – Hydration, even when not at practice, is crucial to a good performance in practice and on meet day.  Each student athlete should have a water bottle with them at all times, and be continually hydrating.  Proper hydration allows the student athlete to recover quickly, avoid side aches and muscle cramps, and be prepared for the elements. Much of the discomfort during a race is due to being dehydrated. We will at times have a sports drink of some sort, but for the most part, water is the most crucial liquid for hydration. It’s nice to have a caribiner clip on the water bottle so it can be easily attached to a bag.

Team Gear -  Each year team gear designed for runners to purchase.  Each year we try and purchase gear that the runners may wear over their uniform before races. The gear is a great team bond, but is not required for purchase.

Watches are not necessary, but can be beneficial to the runner.  We do have some watches available to use, but if an athlete is running a lot in the summer on their own they may want to look into getting a watch.  GPS watches are gaining popularity and coming down in price.  They are helpful for logging pace and mile information and can be very useful training devices when running workouts on their own.  

Stick Roller/4ft 1’’ thick rope/heavy mini band – used for rehab and stretching at home.  We will focus on stretching and rehab routines that can be done on a student athlete's own time, these two items are important for that and can be found for very little price.

AWARDS AND DESIGNATION OF CAPTAINS

Awards — Medals and trophies are given out at a lot of our races. For most meets the awards conclude the finish of a race, but in some meets awards could be handed out at the finish line.  In some meets the varsity runners of the winning team receives either a medal, trophy or plaque. Individual medals will be given out up to a predetermine placement such as the top 15.  Each meet will list their specifications for giving out Awards.

Osakis Cross Country Awards Banquet – At the end of the season we host an Awards Banquet for all athletes who participated and represented the school in cross country.  At this time the Coach will award the top boy and girl varsity runner for Cross Country with an award recognizing their outstanding performance for the team.  The Coach will also present a plaque to a boy and girl who showed the most improvement over the season.   The coach will announce the letter winners.  To receive a Varsity Letter you must satisfy all of the following criteria:

1. Have zero unexcused absences from practice

2. Be academically eligible to compete

3. Have placed in the Varsity top 7 at 3 or more meets OR placed in the Varsity top 7 at Sections and/or the State Meet

4. or, a Senior, who has participated in their third year or more.

The Coach reserves the discretion to issue or withhold a Varsity Letter.  Potential issues that may cause a withheld Varsity Letter are: showing poor sportsmanship to your competitors and teammates, not modeling the behavior expected from an Osakis Cross Country runner.  Potential reasons for a coach to issue a Varsity Letter to an athlete who has not satisfied the requirements: Going above and beyond in your efforts as a teammate and competitor; determination, encouragement, grit, and hard work are the most important attributes of an Osakis Cross Country runner, and an athlete that is an exemplary example of these characteristics will be honored regardless of where they finish in a meet.