Imagine you signed up to be a cross country runner this year. You don’t know anything about the sport. You don’t know what happens at practices and meets. What are you going to do? This article is a day in the life of a typical ADM cross country runner. 

7:00am: Wake up early and eat a healthy breakfast that will keep you fueled throughout the school day. 

8:00am-3:27pm:  Education and grades are very important to all athletes to keep eligible for their activities. So going to school and focusing is important for most cross country runners during the day.  

3:27pm-4:00pm: Injured runners use this time to go to the trainer. 

4:00pm: Practice starts! Make sure to be on time and ready to run. 

4:00pm-6:00pm: Cross country practice is different everyday. Practices are based on the effort used in the workouts; quality, base, and tempo workouts. After every workout, the team drinks Gatorade, stretches, rolls, and just chats with their teammates. Once you are done with cooling down you are free to leave whenever. 

6:00pm-6:30pm: In the next thirty minutes of a workout, athletes get a good high protein meal in. The meal will help with recovery and strengthening of your body. 

9:30pm: Time to go to bed. Recovery happens best while your sleeping. Most cross country runners make sure to get 8-9 hours of sleep.