Cross Country – Pack Running Tips

A cross country team has seven runners. The top five finishers count for the team’s score. Their places are added and the low score wins. The fifth runner is just as important as the first runner. If the first runner places among the top 10 finishers in a large invitational and the fifth runner finishes in the last 10, chances are that team will be beaten by a team that has better balance. One of the objects of the sport is to minimize the time difference between the first runner and the fifth runner. Team balance is something that is built by pack running. Very often the team that runs together has fun together-at the finish line. The stronger runners on a team pull the weaker runners along for most of the race and then leave near the finish line.

Running as a pack is a very effective strategy to help you improve as a team and could lead to a PR.

Did you know? Studies have shown that runners who ran in packs slowed less throughout their races.

Before each race, I used to tell my runners, “You are only as strong as your weakest link.” In other words, the weakest link is the limit of the strength of the team. No matter how strong the other links are, individually the chain is no stronger. I can’t stress enough how important your fifth runner is to the team, while even your sixth and seventh runners can be game changers.

Obviously, you want to build a winning tradition and replace a losing one, but more importantly you want to develop a team that never quits. No matter the outcome…WE ARE ONE.

Here are four tips concerning running as a pack:

1. Find teammates to run with!

The first tip, you must run in a pack with runners that have the same ability that you have. If you try to hang with someone who is much better than you, you'll just end up losing that runner later in the race, and struggle to finish the race. On the other hand, don't stick with a slower group. Find people on your team that have similar best race times and team up. Talk to those that you want to run as a pack with before the race. You need to set your goals, then it’s time to get it done.

2. Don’t go out too fast!

The second tip, don’t go out too fast at the start of the race. The reason you don’t want to go out to hard is that you could sabotage the rest of your race and lose the pack. Set a goal time for the first mile. Try to be on that goal time.

[Remember: Sometimes you can lose confidence because you will find yourself further back in the early stages of a race. You need your teammates to execute this strategy of running in control during the early part of a race. You can work together to push and pass runners who went out too fast and are slowing down in the later stages of the race, and you won't have to fight this upstream battle alone.]

3. Pass as a pack after the mile

The third tip, you should pass people after the first mile. It has been said, “The party starts after the mile.” That means it’s time to pass people. Here’s a great pack running maneuver: You get one person on one side and one person on the other and when you come up on someone you just eat’em up. In other words, you pass them on both sides, it’s called eating them up. Make sure you are passing people after the mile. The first mile is used to get into good position.

[Remember: You can only hurt your chances for a good race in the first mile, not help them. If you go out way too fast, you will suffer a slow an agonizing trip towards the finish. If you go out too slow, no matter how fast you pick it up after the mile, your competition will be out of reach. Run smooth and steady until the mile mark. Then pick up the pace and start picking off runners who didn’t pace themselves properly.]

4. Take turns as leader of the pack!

The fourth tip, you want to stay with each other as a group, because you can take turns as leading each other through the race. Let’s say it’s a windy race. Well if you lead a little bit it helps your teammates and it’s very motivating, because you can talk to each other while you’re switching leads. You can cheer each other on. Now I know that you are not going to have a lot of breath and be able to talk for a long time, but you can say things like “Keep it up!”, “Good job!” or “Let’s keep things going!” So, it’s very motivating to keep running as a team. I always loved it when I was running with my teammates and I could see the teams that I wanted to beat. And when you pass them as a group it is really demoralizing from the other team and it makes you feel good. Pack it up and pass people in the second half of the race.

[Remember: It takes one strong leader in every group to make the strategy of pack running work. Remember that you don’t slow down to stick into a group. A leader will push the pace and the followers need to hang on for as long as possible. If you come up to another teammate, encourage them to push the pace with you or stick with you as long as they can.]

Almost every great cross-country team has a small gap from their first runner to their fifth runner. Your goal as a team should be to have less than one-minute difference between the first finisher for your team and the fifth finisher.

The Morgantown HS boy’s cross country team won the West Virginia High School Class AAA State Championship this past year with this strategy. At the first checkpoint, which was the top of the hill (about 0.7 miles into the race), Morgantown didn’t have a single runner in the top ten, but they had four runners in the top 20. The next checkpoint was at the WVU Extension service building at approximately 1.4 miles. With 6 in the top 20, it was becoming apparent that Morgantown was running away with the race at this point. At the two-mile mark, Morgantown was running in 4th, 8th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th place. It was even more apparent now that Morgantown was dominating this race. Coming onto the track, they finished as a team in 4th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 15th, and 31st place. As you can see, they try to get their first five in as a pack. The Mohigan’s 1-5 split was just 39 seconds. They didn’t go out too fast and ran the hill smart. They used the first mile to get into good position, then they began to pass people who were tiring after the mile. That’s how you win championships.

WV HS Cross Country Teams with the best 1-5 Split in 2016:

· AAA Boys: Morgantown (0:39); Jefferson (0:50); Parkersburg (0:58)

· AAA Girls: Morgantown (0:49); Cabell Midland (1:19); Woodrow Wilson (1:21)

· AA-A Boys: Berkeley Springs (0:45); Bridgeport Senior (0:59); Elkins (1:04)

· AA-A Girls: Bridgeport Senior (1:10); Nicholas County (2:17); Fairmont Senior (2:35)

Now I am not saying having a 1-5 split under a minute is going to win every time, but it sure does increase your odds. Case and point, The Morgantown boys were state champions in class AAA, while Parkersburg finished third (Notice two out of the three placed in the top three in class AAA). The Morgantown girls were state runner-up in class AAA, while Cabell Midland finished third (Notice two out of the three placed in the top three in class AAA). The Bridgeport Senior boys were state champions in class AA-A, while Berkeley Springs were state runner-up (Notice two out of the three placed in the top two in class AA-A). The Fairmont Senior girls were state runner-up in class AA-A, while the Bridgeport Senior girls finished third (Notice two out of the three placed in the top three in class AA-A). As you can see, eight out of twelve teams were in the top 3 in their respective class. If you ask me, that’s pretty good odds.

Practice pack running during the regular season:

Teams should practice a pack running strategy in their meets. I’ve witnessed coaches from some of the best teams in the state, require their top runners to stick with the pack until a certain point in the race. In especially large races, a runner can get lost in the pack. It is much easier to gauge how you are doing if you stick together. Obviously, a runner like a Jacob Burcham or Amelia Paladino would be an exception to this rule.

Once again, Pack Running is the most effective if you run smart, and don’t go out too fast. You and your teammates will be in great position to finish off races strong. Train together in the off season, so you can dominate during the XC season! So, form your wolfpack! Develop, live and help create TEAM commitment.

In cross country, “The Pack is Only as Strong as the Wolf and the Wolf is Only Strong as the Pack.”

Submitted by Coach McMillion (08/01/17)