After being a part of the high school cross country team for the past four years, this thought crossed my mind many times: What is the difference between high school and college level cross country? On November 10, the cross country coach, David Zwank, took any cross country team members who could make it to the D1 Regional Qualifying Meet in Ames.

This meet involved both the woman’s and men’s cross country team runners. All three Iowa teams were there: Iowa State, Iowa, and Northern Iowa.

So what is the difference between what we as cross country runners do in high school vs. what the college runners do? In high school girls and boys races are only a 5k (3.12 miles) for each meet. The season for high school starts at the beginning of September and goes until the final state meet. This year the state meet was on October 28.

College cross country is about a 90 day long season, starting in mid-September and going until the National Championship the day before Thanksgiving. The women’s race is a 6k (3.72 miles) and the men’s race is a 8k (4.97 miles).

Observing the D1 cross country runners, it was clear that they have to be prepared for any weather condition. The temperature high during the Regional Qualifying meet was 33˚F and a low of 17˚F and runners were only wearing spandex and their running tank tops. Their distance is so much further than high school and they have to prepare and train hard for what they do. Watching the women’s and men’s race it was impressive to see what cross country athletes are capable of, even though I don’t intend to run again in college.