To several people, the thought of running for long periods of time doesn’t sound very appealing but some seem to get a lot out of it.

“ I run Cross Country because it is fun. It is like your are one big family , you get so many friends from it and I just like to run and compete in races. freshmen Elizabeth Stinson on the Liberty North Cross Country team said.

Everyday after school the team meets on the track or at Heritage to do everything from road-runs to workouts. On Saturdays, they compete and do well at different places around the metro because they are working hard throughout the week.

“When I’m doing workouts with the cross country girls, I know that we’re all in pain, but that we’re all there for each other. We all cheer each other on, which makes it easier for us to push ourselves, and makes us all-around better runners.” Sophomore Riley Sutherland said.

A nonverbal way the girls cheer each other on is through secret sis gifts. At the beginning of the season, each girl will get assigned another teammate that they are responsible to get gifts and write letters to at most meets.

“I love Secret Sis because it’s both a great way to get excited for meets and an opportunity to learn about the other girls on the team. This knowledge helps a lot. Sometimes when a meet hurts really badly, I’ll find myself thinking about a note my secret sis left me before the meet. Those words always help me push through the pain.” Sutherland said.

It is words like these as well as the coaches that motivate the team to do better. Every day before practice, the team will sit in a huddle to discuss important information. Often times, Coach Chatlos will tell running stories that the team can benefit from.

“I like how the coaches have a lot of experience and relate our experiences to past runners. No matter how many times Chatlos will tell his stories they will never get old.” Senior Travis Akin said.