Track Vs Cross Country

I have run on my high school’s cross country and track teams for multiple years. The amount of people that do not know the difference between track and cross country always surprises me. Although they both involve running, the two sports differ in several ways. Track and cross country competitions are run on different terrain, during different seasons, and over different distances. Track is run, obviously, on a track. The tracks that competitions are run on are circular in shape and are generally flat. They can be made up of different materials like rubber or pavement, but they are all usually the same length in outdoor track: 400 meters. Because athletes run in a circle during the track season, it can put excess strain on one side of a runner’s legs and lead to injury. The unyielding surface of some tracks can also lead to high impact on the legs and joints(“Cross Country Running”). Cross country competitions are run on completely different terrain. The races in cross country are generally run on trails and in fields. Cross country races can include trails, hills, stream crossings, roads, and more. The races can consist of multiple loops or one large loop and the start and finish do not need to be in

In high school track, the longest possible distance that can be run is two miles. Track races can vary from 100 meters to 1600 meters and may include hurdles. Track teams contain various types of runners. They include sprinters, medium distance runners, and long distance runners. Track competitions consist of several races because of the many different distances that are run. In high school competitions, cross country races are only one distance: 5 kilometers. In these competitions, there will almost always be only two races, a varsity and junior varsity race. Because of this, cross country competitions are usually much shorter that track