By Macy Boyer 

I awoke to the painstakingly obnoxious sound of my phone alarm. Confused and disoriented, I reached for my phone to silent the repetitive ringing. I peered through my squinted eyes at the time, as dread poured through me. I had one reason for waking up at the obscene hour of 5:37 a.m. on a Saturday morning: cross country. 

As I drove down River Road in the pitch-black morning, I squirmed in the driver’s seat, nervous anticipation flowing through me. I was on my way to Collegiate, where I would board the bus outside Jacobs Gym and be transported to Panorama Farms. I knew all too well that in a few short hours I was going to be in extreme physical pain, with the cynical voice in my head begging me to give up. A recurring thought began to loop through my brain:  Why do I do this sport? In fact, why does anyone do this sport?   

While I knew in the deep corners of my mind that I have willingly participated in cross country year after year because I have found joy in running, I couldn’t help but think about my teammates. I wondered about my teammates’ own cross country experiences and why they made the decision to join the team and stay. I was determined to find out.

2023 Collegiate varsity cross country team after girls and boys won LIS and Preps at Fork Union Military Academy. Photo credit: Jeff Trabaudo via instagram @collegiaterichmondxc.

The Collegiate girls varsity cross country team has achieved immense success throughout the past few seasons. Led by former Middle School teacher and current head coach Matthew Richardson (‘07), the girls team have achieved three consecutive LIS championships, in 2022, 2023, and 2024, as well as four consecutive state championships between 2021 and this year. This fall, the team was composed of 24 girls and additionally led by assistant coaches Courtney Ferrell, a Collegiate parent, and Upper School English teacher Richard Milby. 

I started on my quest for answers by talking to co-captains Maddie McComb (‘25) and Nora Wallace (‘25). McComb, who wrote about the psychology of running last year for The Match, has been a member of the varsity team since 8th Grade. Wallace joined the team as a new student in 9th Grade. She explained that she initially joined because she knew one of the team members; however, her experience from the first few weeks of training solidified her desire to become a Collegiate runner. Wallace said, “The team was really welcoming and made me feel so much more comfortable with myself.” McComb became a runner simply because she enjoyed the physical exercise, yet she quickly realized the team was about more than running a 5k at Robins Campus. “Even though cross country is one of the hardest sports,” McComb commented, “you bond and become really close as a team. You meet some of your really good friends.”

The varsity cross country Seniors girls  celebrating on Senior Day. Photo credit: @cougz_sexc_ladies via instagram.

Wallace remarked that her most significant running challenge has been “overcoming the mental battle I had in my head, and the voice that’s telling you to slow down or stop running.” For McComb, the challenges have been more physical, with stress fractures and tendonitis forcing her to take time off from running. 

Yet, to Wallace and McComb, the lessons they learned from overcoming obstacles made the challenges worth it. Wallace explained that the “challenges I have faced have really taught me one of the most important values in life. Resilience. I know after going through my own mental and physical battles, I am able to do anything.” Plus, McComb noted, “I learned how to take care of my body.” Looking at the rest of the season, McComb hoped “to finish strong in the championship races,” with the ultimate goal being “to become closer as a team.”

I turned to Rosie Ferrell (‘27) and Virginia Harris (‘27), who have been racing side by side since they joined the team in 8th Grade. With personal 5k records of 18:10 for Harris (an average of 5:49 minute per mile pace for three miles) and 19:16 for Ferrell (an average of 6:11 minute per mile pace for three miles), their swift strides are often accompanied by smiles. Harris has run with her mom since she was young, yet a specific experience in 6th Grade prompted Harris to join the team: “I was playing sharks and minnows and [my literature teacher] watched me run, and I think his exact words were, ‘If you don’t run cross country next year, I’m going to fail you.’” Harris explained that while she knew her teacher was only joking, it “sparked” something in her. Ferrell decided to join the cross country team after watching the “joy my sister,” Giles Ferrell (‘24), “had from her experience.” And, Ferrell continued, “It was probably one of the best decisions that I could have ever made because of the family you gain from it.”

Some members of the 2024 varsity cross country team after placing second at the Woodberry Invitational. Photo credit: @cougz_sexc_ladies via instagram.

Similar to McComb and Wallace, Ferrell and Harris place the team dynamic at the core of the sport. Ferrell explained that as a cross country runner, you know there will be “people who will have your back throughout everything, because you’ve done something hard together.” As a runner, I can attest that hardly anything brings people closer together than experiencing the shared sense of grueling pain, and the shared sense of accomplishment that comes with it. That feeling of accomplishment is a principal motivator for people to return, Ferrell added, as people want to “keep chasing the good feeling” that comes after achieving something hard. 

Finally, I looked to one of the cross country’s team North Stars, assistant coach Courtney Ferrell. As a former cross country runner for St. Catherine’s, Ferrell commented on what she believes brings athletes back to the sport every August. “The human spirit wants to be tested,” Ferrell remarked. She explained that “once you get comfortable being uncomfortable, you’re no longer okay with taking the ordinary path.” Ferrell’s statement resonated with me, for every year, even though I know it will hurt, I want to see what I am capable of. 

I began my quest for answers by questioning the choices I had made that landed me awake at 5:37 a.m. on a Saturday morning. My teammates and coaches’ remarks have reminded me, however, of why I love this sport. Running is, Coach Ferrell describes, “watching ordinary people do something extraordinary.” Rosie Ferrell added that people return to cross country “because they love Coach Richardson and Coach Milby.” I know I can speak for my teammates when I say that our success as a team can largely be attributed to the wisdom and guidance of our coaches, and I am deeply grateful for them every day.