By: Keyton Bielecky, Talon Staff
Turning the ignition to start your car on a mid-September day in Tallahassee is a big deal. Regardless of where you park, there’s only one conclusion to be had as you craftily maneuver your seatbelt so as to not burn yourself.
It’s hot.
While most find it hard enough just to go outside during the seemingly endless summer season, there is a group of people who embrace it.
These are the cross-country runners for Tallahassee Community College. It’s been two years since the men’s team first took to the sport and three for the women. After sitting down with a few of this year’s newcomers, one thing became clear: this is a mental sport.
From the breakfast you eat, to the way you tie your shoes, everything is important to runner Genevieve Printiss. After talking about how she prepares for a meet, Printiss said that physically most people can run. However, it takes a mental state of wanting and knowing that you can do it in order to finish.
“It’s hard and horrible”, said Printiss. “But the hard work is worth it.”
To Printiss the end of the race is a great feeling.
Brandon Flagler, a rising star amongst the men’s team, approaches the task differently but with the same goal. Flagler begins his warm-up with the calming sounds of classical music. This classical music Flagler listens to is to help control a pain in his thumb caused by a nerve reaction from his pre-race adrenaline.
Flagler believes more than anything that cross-country is a race against yourself. The sport is a constant battle between mind and body, and to Flagler, getting across the finish line is just as much about preparing as it is about battling through the unexpected leg cramp that may try to defeat you in that last leg of the race.
Cross-country may seem like a simplistic sport, but for those who know their way through the heat and humidity of Tallahassee’s trails, it is anything but according to Flagler and Printiss. They said that for those looking for both a mental and physical challenge, this is the sport for you.
