The fledgling cross country team at Metro State is up and running. Literally.

The approximately 20 men and women started training as a team on Aug. 8. “We are working with them so they can understand what it takes to compete at this level,” says new head coach Peter Julian. “An easy day can be 10 miles. They’ll run from 70 to 100 miles per week, some days doing long runs and others doing shorter, faster intervals. We try to work from every physiological angle, to develop endurance and speed.”

Cross country running differs from road running or track running principally in the course, which is generally on trails (“Anything but asphalt,” says Julian) and may include grass, mud, woodlands or water. “Our training runs can be on a wheat field, through a golf course or a muddy pond,” says Julian. “We’ve been using the city parks and the Highline Canal trail so far.”

In college-level cross country, men race 8,000 to 10,000 meters (5-6 miles) and women race 6,000 meters (about 4 miles). Scoring is on a team basis, with points awarded to individual runners according to the position in which they cross the finish line.

Starting a program from scratch was a challenging task, according to Julian, who was hired in April. “We put the program together at that point, which is a pretty late start for recruiting.” However, Julian cites the support of Athletic Director Joan McDermott as invaluable in this startup phase. “She wants to win. Metro State does win, in a lot of sports, and much of that is because we have the tools to go after good athletes.”

Last spring Julian, together with assistant coach Sean Nesbitt, “started going to high school track meets throughout the state and talking to the coaches, all of whom were really enthused. Now there’s an alternative to Western State and Adams State for local runners.” The new teams (men’s and women’s) are composed primarily of freshmen from Colorado, with a few transfers. “Ultimately, we can have a very competitive team because there’s so much talent in the area,” says Julian.

Julian, whom This Week @ Metro profiled in April (http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/@metro/tw@metro_vol2/sports_twv2042005.htm), has a long history as both a runner and a coach. About the rigorous training, Julian says: “I know not every day is a good one. Some days you feel horrible. And there are lots of struggles with being a student-athlete, many of which I’ve dealt with myself. But a lot of these runners are passionate about the sport, and so am I.”

The team started its season last week at the CU Time Trial in Boulder. The men finished third behind the University of Colorado and the Colorado School of Mines. The women didn’t field a full team, although Sitges Manning, who plans to redshirt this year, finished second for the Roadrunner women. The next competition is at the University of Nebraska Invitational on Sept. 17. The season ends in mid-November, at which point Julian will begin gearing up for next year.

For more Metro cross country news go to http://gometrostate.collegesports.com/sports/c-xc/mest-c-xc-body.html