Sports Series: The evolution of cross country running

There’s a common debate about if cross country running is considered an actual sport. People who don’t believe it’s a sport will tell you, “All you do is run,” and people who do believe it’s a sport will ask you, “Have you ever run for fun?”

The reality is, cross country is a sport. In fact, it’s a grueling one. According to sevenlakesabc.com, “runners compete to complete a course over open or rough terrain.” 

According to sevenlakesabc.com, cross country began in 1838 when Rugby College hosted the first ever Crick Run – an event still popular in England to this day. 

According to runnerspace.com, cross country was invented as a means to practice horse steeplechase in the off-season, a very popular sport at the time. 

This was accomplished by including barrels of hay and ditches in the course that the competitors would have to jump over.

A few years later, in 1851, Exeter College, Oxford expanded on this idea of cross country, and they decided to host a “foot grind.” This event took athletes over hedges, fences and ditches throughout a two-mile course. 

When William C. Vosburgh – an American water polo athlete – saw this new competition emerge, he decided to introduce it to the United States. 

Originally, the sport was simply a means of summer training for track and field athletes. However, in 1887 – nine years after Vosburgh introduced the sport to the U.S. – cross country evolved into a formal sport. 

Cross country quickly became popular worldwide and was added to the Summer Olympic Games in 1912. However, only ten years later it was removed because runners were dropping out of racing due to the heat. Nowadays, the closest thing the Olympics has to cross country is track and field. 

There isn’t really a standard distance for a cross country running group. According to sevenlakesabc.com, “distances vary for age groups, and are decided by the race directors.”

With that being said, it is common to see high school runners compete in a 5-kilometer race (about 3.1 miles), college women compete in a 6-kilometer race (about 3.72 miles) and college men compete in an 8- or 10-kilometer race (about 4.97 miles or 6.2 miles, respectively).

As the sport has evolved, the course has shifted from terrain with frequent turns, hills and mud to relatively straight, flat and grassy terrain.

While many people don’t consider cross country to be a serious sport, it proves otherwise. Unlike basketball, volleyball and hockey, there are no breaks in this competition. Once the gun goes off, you run until you cross the finish lines. 

Finally, because cross country is a fairly simple concept, it’s easy for anyone to do. So head outside, jump on a trail, and run until you can’t anymore. I’m sure you’ll understand why cross country running is a serious sport after that.