Cross Country

The Centennial High School cross country program is for students registered in grades 7 – 12. The season begins in mid-August and runs through early November.  

Practice is twice per day the first three weeks of the season for athletes in grades 9 – 12.  Runners in grades 7 and 8 practice once a day.  Most workouts begin at the high school with athletes meeting in the cross country room (wrestling room).  Once school classes begin, 6 a.m. practices are optional.  On school days, athletes from Centennial  Middle School ride an activity bus to the high school.  There is no activity bus following practices to take athletes home.

Saturday practices are optional until after Labor Day and always optional for 7th and 8th grade runners unless they are on the varsity/JV.  These practices are usually at another site, such as Centerville Elementary, Rice Lake Elementary, Golden Lake Elementary, Lochness Park on Lexington Ave. North, Tamarack Park in WBL, or Anoka High School (site of the section championships).  Saturday practices are important because of the hard – easy regimen we follow (hard workout followed by an easier workout the next day).  Early in the season, the Saturday practice is our long run of the week.  Later in the season it is an important speed workout or recovery run.  Sunday should be a day of rest.

Workouts in the swimming pool could be optional morning practices.  This is often a good option for injured athletes.  A good workout can be done without the usual stress on hips, knees, ankles, and feet. 

Practices include warm-up, stretching, running, form development, weight room activities, goal setting, team building, and mental training.  Most practices will be completed within two hours on school days.

Runners can help themselves by keeping a mileage log.  By recording the number of miles run each day and how he/she felt, a general routine and history can be established.  Most running shoes need to be replaced between 300 and 500 miles.  By doing this, many injuries can be prevented.