Cross Country Running Basics

Cross country running is a leading sport which lots of people love to participate in. Schools and clubs all over the U.S.A. encourage this sport and many competitions are held for cross country runners all over the country. The simple but strict basic rules of this sport are intriguing and many great cross country runners have been discovered in the US.

Cross country running is a very popular sport, in which teams of participants compete against each other to finish running over open or rough terrain faster than their opponents. Cross country running takes place during the winter and autumn months in temperate areas. The running course might consist of water, wood lands, grass and even mud.

The course is what makes cross country running different from track or road running. The scores kept on cross country running are on a team basis. Each runner in a team gets a point according to when the runner crosses the finish line, with the best getting the lowest point (the first runner to get to the finish line gets one point, the second one gets two, the third three and so on). The only runners whose scores are counted as a part of the whole team's score in cross country running.

The number of top runners being counted depends on the size of the competition and the teams participating in the cross country running competition. Similar to golf, the lowest scores for the runners count as the best. The teams in cross country running are given ranks on the basis of the points that the top runners in that team have scored. If there is a tie, rules may vary. Sometimes the team that is close to scoring first is declared the winner, while at other times NCAA ties are declared.

In the event of a tie in cross country running competitions at the high school level, the score of the six runner of each team is taken into consideration and the sixth runner that has reached the finish line first will cause his or her team to win the cross country running competition. The most important number in cross country running competitions is the number twenty seven - a team scoring 27 or lower in a five to score crosss country running match wins automatically.

In cross country running, coaches keep moving through the course to motivate the runners and direct tactics. Cross country running has some fundamental rules which, although quite rigid, are not maintained as much in lower level competitions at the middle and high school levels. The rules of cross country running are -

•It is mandatory for the participants to run the whole length of the course, and using short cuts or cutting corners can lead to disqualification
•Clean starts are imperative and foul play or falls will result in a restart of the competition
•Any sweats or undergarmet worn by the participants must not show any letters on it
•Sweats and undergarmet color should be the same for all participants
•All the participants have to wear identical uniforms

In the USA, the distance at amateur cross country running competitions differ with regard to league and gender. Cross country running clubs exist for young people aged eighteen and below. Course distances in cross country running competition such as Foot Locker, USATF and AAU vary accoring to the age group of the pariticipants concerned.