How I Improved In Cross Country Running [5 Tips To Get Better at XC]

Running cross country is not easy, but I sure miss it! Here's HOW TO IMPROVE in cross country with my 5K, 8K & 10K PR times and 5 tips (plus a bonus tip) to follow during training, workouts and races in your cross country season - whether you're in high school, college, or any level of runner!
More XC RUNNING TIPS: • Cross Country Running ...
#CrossCountry #RunningTips #TheAthleteSpecial

[@jacobfaughtrunningproducti974]

Me chillin over here at 17:43 as a junior hearing him say 17:00 as a freshman is "not great"😂

[@zacjohnson452]

It’s all very relative. My entire team is running 17:30+ and we’re dominating our league currently.

[@bretonwayde6934]

Facts

[@i_is_piano1941]

17:42 as a junior bro 😭 i gotchu by a second tho aaaaahhh

[@jacobfaughtrunningproducti974]

@@i_is_piano1941 I've ran 17:30 on pavement, so I might have you there🤣

[@i_is_piano1941]

@@jacobfaughtrunningproducti974 nooooo😢. Dw tho i’m literally going to race on pavement in 3 hours, so i’ll get you again there just wait a bit

[@nro337]

Visualize your performance in the race too! The course, how you want to feel when. Really helps you come in calmer during the race

[@bryanhampson2710]

It’s crazy how accurate the race ends up after visualizing it the night before

[@bcgyt9136]

bro i can't visualize anything in my head 😭😭😭 god nerfed me fr

[@fatgy-9200]

Pre race vision: I’m gonna wake up early in the morning, running on 3 hrs of sleep, go downstairs and eat a bagel, ride the bus to school, sit through an excruciating 90 min of Algebra II then cruise through my other classes. I’m going to eat shitty school food for lunch that I know is gonna hurt me later but oh well. I’m going to ride the bus with my team to the meet and discover we have gushers in our team snack bin. I am going to eat 9-12 packs of gushers over the course of 10 minutes. I’m going to do my usual warmup and probably throw up, where I’ll then have to explain to my coach that my vomit is blood red because I ate an unholy amount of gushers and that I don’t have a life-threatening intestinal issue. Then, 20 minutes before the race, I’m going to decide it’s probably a good idea to have my first bottle of water for the day, because you gotta get that pre-race hydration. I then take a sip of an energy drink to get pumped up before I walk to the start line. On the start line, the energy drink, 16 oz of water, and the school’s premium teriyaki chicken I had for lunch is going to develop into a nasty gut pain that refuses to go away. I then run the race as any sleep-deprived, dehydrated, malnourished 11th grader that’s trying not to shit themselves would, and still end up with a PR somehow. Just about sums up the cross country experience.

[@reivzs6761]

bro at mt sac i could feel the water splashing around in my stomach and i was regretting everythting my legs hurt so bad my arms were giving up on me i wanted to throw myself off that hill

[@mon_gg]

School cross country be the hunger games fr fr

[@kevinmshea58]

Now in every race the rest of my life I will think of how disappointed Spencer would be if I give up when it gets tough. 😂😂 Great video and definitely some great tips in here.

[@thomasbitsche6224]

Had a XC meet where a teammate gave blood day of meet. He was cocky but he didn't realize how much a pint of blood given would affect him running.

[@arogueburrito]

watching Spencer talk about cross is so nostalgic for me, this is how I began my running career

[@hyxinzai]

These tips actually worked, as a high school cross country runner I was able to improve my pr from a 21:00 to a 17:21 within a season and I got a 17:33 on the meet two days ago

[@lordofskag]

Man dude I ran a 18:47 as my pr this year and last race I ran a 23 because of how weak I felt. Anyways Imma get like you this next race

[@rilauats]

My season bests in 2023 -- 5k at 30::00 and 10k at 65:00. Hurting plenty well at 0.7k when I turn from downhill to flat. Sidebar - turning 60 yrs old this season.

[@Coolkidb-qx7jr]

I'm in 5th grade going into 6th soon and I'm also a cross country but when you said that your 8K time was a 23:00 my jaw dropped because that's only my 5K time. But all I got to say is you are FAST

[@taylorevans5381]

I got you! This might be my last race in cross country this season in regionals and I have to beat my team mate to get top 7 and we’re pretty similar runners. I remember this video for sure!

[@dragonedge_]

Did you make it?

[@soupwater220]

how’d you do? no pressure no hate here i have experienced being so close to winning and losing at last second before in championships i was third the entire time and at the last second i was passed and didnt medal this was for track tho but still

[@haydenwestfall8798]

I’m Literally in the same situation. How’d it turn out for you?

[@markbateman9222]

Agree with what you said about mileage in training for XCountry. After all, it's not a marathon you're training for! One thing i would add is to do some workouts on the sort of surface you are going to race on. Reps at race pace on the grass are great training for Xcountry. Depending on how much background you have, 5-8 x1000-1200 with a short(ish) recovery is a great workout especially if done on a slightly undulating circuit. It's also the type of workout you should be doing if your aim is racing well at 800-1500 later in the year. Also, practise running downhill! Something i never did and consequently always lost ground going down any hills.

[@ZipTieConnoisseur]

Yo you probably won’t see this, but I run cross country at amity right now, and I actually ran a 26:01.04 at the Wilton invitational this year, and at SCCs I pr’d with a 24:18, so it’s cool to randomly find an xc KZbinr near me!

[@reide.a]

YOOO I DIDNT KNOW YOU WERE FROM CT! as soon as you showed the clip of you running the green monster i freaked out. i ran in the class s meet last week as a freshman, though my time was not even close to 17:00 haha. i’m hoping to improve throughout the year for next season and get as close to there as possible (like a six minute improvement, probably not gonna happen but whatever).

[@robciervo]

Thanks for putting in those Lehigh clips from Paul Short. That’s where PA HS state XC Championships were my senior year of HS way back in ‘85. A great course of rolling hills. Good tips on the pre race routine. As a PhD in Sport Psychology I can tell you that is vital in controlling pre-race anxiety and stress. Good stuff there.

[@ELN_Offical]

This is my first year running xc, I’m in 6th grade and I qualified for state!

[@Irisgeneral]

I miss the XC season so so much i only started this year but this is one of my FAVORITE sports ive ever tried

[@bcrruns1085]

Great video!

[@swede939]

Bro. I run for Warde High School in Fairifield, CT. I didn't even realize it was Wilton, CT. I saw some of the clips of you running at Allen's Meadow and I just ran there this season. I honestly love your videos because I want to get better at Cross Country. I've improved so much and I've helped my team a lot going into the winter season!

[@swede939]

i ran my first varsity race here, great 5k course

[@iloverunning8011]

Tip 4 is very helpful

[@WashingMachineFr]

This is great. I just had a meet today, we do 2-mile races in middle school and for my first year ever i got a 13:12 I’m really proud and am hoping to get below 12s by next year it’s gonna hurt like hell though!!

[@FIFA_editz1030]

Thank you for sharing your tips bc I wanted to know how to improve bc yesterday was regionals and I started of top 4 or 3 then by the end of the race I was in 26th place with 17:21

[@Anthony-mh7ix]

Ah yes, posting this after my season ends. You love to see it!

[@johnhenry5945]

Need to come down to Portland and race some xc in the fall next year !

[@Jaksa006]

Bro as a 15 y/o on 4 *km* I got 16:34 😭 and placed 18/21 in my contry. But as 13 y/o on 1 km I got 3:05 and placed 5th in my country. I really dropped training during covid so that had a major negative impact on my running. (Just for clarification I am 16.5 y/o now) I hope I can get back in form at least a tiny bit.

[@Windperfire]

country? Bro where do you live

[@Jaksa006]

@@Windperfire Croatia my guy. I don't honestly know why there aren't more racers. Maybe because it's clubs competition and not schools, so it's only "the best of the best". In school xc there are usually about 100 racers per category. What are numbers like at your place (guessing you're from the USA)?

[@Windperfire]

@@Jaksa006 I am from the USA and to be honest, I do not know the average time. I am also a 16 year old but since this is my first year in Cross Country, my times aren't as good as yours. My best time was 19:35

[@Jaksa006]

@@Windperfire oh no no 😅 I meant the number of runners (per category)?

[@Windperfire]

@@Jaksa006 Well for invitationals, there are usually 100-200 runners like yours. For Duel meets (A 1v1 between schools if you don't know), it's usually 30-50 people.

[@envy_coppr2146]

Going to Wilton high this year and will race cross country

[@elushuto5270]

Regionals today :) thx for the tip Edit: I’m a freshman in HS

[@nathanpresswood15]

LeTtTtTtTsSsSs GoOoOoOooOo, we love the og Spencer content!

[@massimopicca]

why do you have to say LeTtTtTsSs GoOoOoO in every video

[@nathanpresswood15]

@@massimopicca BeCaUsE, it's the ultimate way to pump someone up! LeTtS gOoO!

[@massimopicca]

@@nathanpresswood15 I don’t see how using a variety of lowercase and uppercase letters pumps people up, but you do you

[@nathanpresswood15]

@@massimopicca I guess so lol, should I go with all uppercase now then? 🤔

[@massimopicca]

@@nathanpresswood15 yes

[@jayden.08]

dude ur crazy my best was 26 and a half minutes freshman year

[@daveconvoy5793]

Love these recent vids you have Allie have done 🎉

[@ezkur]

Favorite workouts during base phase training for 5k/8k/10k?

[@Miklip]

Some things that people do is they look back and it slows them down a bit

[@Dollface.]

I have my first cross country meet tomorrow. It’s only two miles but I’m so scared😭 So I won’t give up because I know Spencer will be disappointed in me😖✨

[@akwschannel9066]

How’d u do?

[@pokics]

how did u do

[@Dollface.]

@@akwschannel9066 Omg I forgot I made this comment! But I did okay for my first race. I got 22 place out of 64 girls so I didn’t do bad! Thx for asking!

[@Dollface.]

@@pokics I did pretty well for my first race! I got 22 place so I’m proud😋

[@thomasperez358]

What were your go to xc race shoes?

[@KY-fh5kh]

Ontario University Championship XC tomorrow, baby!

[@Frostzy.]

Nice video! Keep posting amazing content like this

[@zanepoenix8268]

Sections on Thursday trying to qualify for state with the team

[@danieldunstone6128]

nice, what about xtraining how to get fitter if your limited with amount of running you can do like me due to injuries so i ride use spin bike, what are xtraining tips

[@adrianlifts2]

I am currently waiting my section meet for tomorrow, hoping to go to state.

[@Briman242]

How did you do!??!

[@adrianlifts2]

@@Briman242 I would have qualified as an individual, but our whole team made it for the first time in 55 years!

[@affabaffa4393]

Dude your state must’ve had a lot of fast course, 17:00 and 150th at state lmaoo Georgia’s state course is almost entirely uphill a 17:00 would be like top 25

[@colew213]

same here in arizona 😭

[@SUB-4]

Running in NXN as an 8th grader soon hope this helps get my time under 17.

[@SUB-4]

*NXR

[@ZYZZ_WHEY]

@@SUB-4 you can edit ur comments on KZbin btw,

[@SUB-4]

I know just doesn't work well on my device.

[@Liamstutz]

I’m cookin at Wilton invite this year

[@ethan.wroblewski]

Believe it, or not, but I think I’m the only runner that never ran cross country I boxed in the winter, and fall. Spring I ran distance for track. Boxing was always my first sport I ran distance for cross-training.

[@BlackBeltDustin]

I never did either.

[@BlackBeltDustin]

I go walking or running by myself.

[@haydenncoff2011]

i’ve just started cross country and im in 7th grade and i’ve just won the championship and got 5th place out of 70

[@maristranquille2125]

ye nice

[@insanity0854]

How am i eight grade how should I run in the winter for the mile my usual run are like 4 miles everyday so 20- 30mile week pls help

[@elliemconie]

What’s weird is that in the US XC finishes after you finish high school/college. Whereas in the UK you compete for a club and you can do cross country from age 9 up to like 90

[@CamlinWatkins]

I’m going into 5 th grade this year any tips on xc

[@anaboveaveragedog]

17:00 flat asa freshman!?! 15:58 as a shophmore!?! That would be 1st place in the state where I live why is your state so good

[@5littlewrestlers]

is 11.58 good for a 3k

[@mauros2270]

My garmin 245 music says I can run a 16:44 for the 5k but i never even broke 18 before but the reason why is cuz i get scared when i race after the first mile i slow down and just try to relax because I didn’t know it was supposed to hurt i would just try to be as relax as possible and would normally finish at 18:46-19:15 and in my workouts I go way faster. Im a 4:40 miller and I’m super scared to hurt after one mile i feel like i could die if i keep going but im not out of breath im breathing fine like if it was tempo and then just slow down cuz im scared. Help

[@aaronjenkins6048]

Similar PR to you for the mile at 4:42, ended up running 17:08 over 5k. My biggest tip for XC races is know the course beforehand so you can map out how your race will go. I generally went out in 5:30-5:40 for the first mile and went from there. If I was feeling okay I would keep the pace steady and test the people behind me, if I was starting to struggle I'd let someone pass me and then latch onto their shoulder. Having a person to target helps a ton with mental strength

[@andrewn405]

The garmin thing is a prediction so I think it focuses on the future based off of your running cause mine says like 16:00 flat and I’m at 17:20

[@spencereasterbrook9357]

mine was at 14:45 once, then went down to 19:30 when I was injured lol and im a 16:10 3 mile lol

[@inserthandsomefacehere9401]

My freshman year I ran 24:32 how you so good

[@HoldenL]

i didn’t do sports for 3 years and i just started running again in freshman year highschool (current) and i ran a 33:25 5k😭😭😭

[@abiss2951]

Hey! I’ve never done sports before and that’s a few seconds better than my PR(also freshie.) I’m proud of you, bro. KEEP RUNNING!

[@HoldenL]

@@abiss2951 ty. i will🥹

[@lucianarioslazo79]

I think this is the DOWN moment for me, sometimes is so stressful to not see my results 😭😭😭 I need to get better

[@Callum528]

i hope you see this but i was wondering in gr 10 i ran 4k in 14 min and placed 53 in provincials is that good?

[@mitchibaby_12]

Great! And remember you beat others that's winning in its own way

[@Ashtonj7116]

17:00 would get top 15 at my my state meet

[@user-xe9on1cu5o]

sir im 28 im in good shape but my running sucks im bevileve it or not im 312 but im in good shape i was wondering how can i be able to run cross country im want to be there for my family and be able to be there for my nice that like a daughter to me i already lost two of my brother i just dont want my mom and dad to lose me so that benig said how do i do cross country oh and the only time i can run is when i have adrenaline

[@bradynanderson4907]

Wow

[@I_love_music-Abby]

EVERY FAST PERSON IS NAMED SPENCER I SWEAR.

[@DennisC_X]

First!

[@VMDXmp3]

I just signed up for cross country without even knowing anything abt the sport 🤷‍♂️

[@sapph3342]

Same I did terrible my first “meet”

[@user-lz5ef8hy5b]

dumb ways to die 😅

[@thomasbeasley3271]

I run cross country in England and your cross country looks like a road race to us 🤣. I came 5th in my latest XC which was a 10k. The course was dreadful. About 1000 places to twist your angle then swimming in mud 🤣

[@clibothy]

I wish our XC courses were like that. You’re right in that they’re like road races, in California there aren’t a lot of really interesting courses

[@ChannelP-lf7jx]

I started in 4th grade and I am in 5th now

[@littleninja8003]

green lake

[@user-pu6ve9ox6l]

OMG ARE U A GUYANESE I AM ❤❤

[@aaronnichols736]

Hey man, since it looks like you’re trying to find where running will take you next, why don’t you do what deestroying is doing for football. Go seek out the best xc meets and then the best track meets and lift the athletes up from your soap box… just a thought.

[@energyviper8465]

I am in 8th grade and I can run a 21:25 is that pretty good?

[@recolex]

Yes very good

[@allendale10]

I'm based in the UK - why does XC stop in the US after college????

[@dandillon2163]

There is no reason it has to. I guess XC ended after college for Spencer. It didn't for me. I went to High School and College in New England. Opportunities are out there if you really love running it. Find a club that has other runners who will keep you motivated. I kept getting better at XC after College and made several US National teams. In my day we had athletes like Carlos Lopes who was still winning World Cross Country Championships when he was almost 40.

[@ezekiellloyd8369]

XC clubs aren’t that popular here

[@allendale10]

@@ezekiellloyd8369 we don't have cross country clubs, we have athletics clubs that do T&F, XC & Road running and most of us do it all

[@alfdickinson1971]

Is that Wilton, CT?

[@TheAthleteSpecial]

you know it 😎

[@heroesinoursparetime8963]

Man's saying 17:00 as a freshman and my freshman pr was a 21:06. What am I missing?

[@fluffywuffyrat]

The courses can be very different, some are fast and some are slow

[@chenybot69]

sohpmore rn 29 minute 5k

[@hooman9554]

nice

[@Notnotcam]

Clicked off an older video of yours for this one😂

[@ezekielanderson9055]

This is a TRUE Athletes Special fan 👏

[@jdcarson9550]

Freshman running 20:57

[@scrunywhiteboy2649]

Bro making me feel bad I got 23:14 my sophomore year so far

[@Newnewrom]

Don’t worry, you can do better. You just gotta put the work into it, but enjoy the time you have as well

[@TOMas12408]

No way I live in Darien and have raced against Wilton dozens of times

[@hogrider5510]

My friend burned out. He was our best junior high runner, but today at our meet even I beat him. His best time is about 18 minutes. Mine is 22… Ps. We are freshmen

[@clibothy]

Is it an injury? If not, everybody has their bad races

[@AriWeiner-mq2wq]

He said 17:00 isn't good

[@thomas1630]

Dude you should be a high school CC coach and track. You are so dead on most people run their whole life and dont get this.

[@That_Ramdom]

Bro all u need is to practice.

[@davidgoater2181]

Bud, you’re running out of content……

[@dant3113]

Bro I was running 15:00's in Jr High and didn't even qualify for finals in Cali 🤣. As a freshman I was killing my varsity team and still no good. I stop trying Junior year and gave up now I climb The tallest mountains in the country for fun lol