by AJ Nichols

Imagine a grueling week of practice that involves running, lifting, and hard workouts all to prepare for one race that can get you closer to your goals. That’s just another week for cross country runners Olive Varvel and Caden Fromm.

Varvel and Fromm both run for the Bellbrook High School cross country team and have high hopes for the season.

Varvel is a junior and runs for the girls’ team, and Fromm is a senior captain, and runs for the boys’ team.
A typical week of practice for the team looks like this: “Run everyday, temple runs, long runs, lifting, repeats, switching up the type of workouts, and speed,” Fromm said.

“Fridays are when we run the cross country course to prepare. It’s a tradition,” Varvel said. “To encourage each other during a workout, the coaches for the team like to group everyone based on their times for the season, so we can push each other and pace.”

“We’re just one big family, and we like to push each other to do better,” Fomm said.

One of the biggest things to overcome for cross country running is the mental challenge of running long distances. “A way to overcome that would be to not think about it, or think about other things, like the post race celebrations,” Varvel said.

Injuries are another concern that can throw off the whole season. “Injuries can throw off your whole routine, and the progress you’ve made,” Fromm said. Fromm speaks from experience as he had Plantar fasciitis, where the plantar fascia muscle in his foot was inflamed and took him off the course for multiple weeks.

Nutrition is also a key part for success during the season. “Nutrition is very important,” Fromm said. “Gotta treat your body. If you don’t, it can make it worse.”

The goal for the team this year is to win the SWBL and go to state. Some upcoming meets are the Bellbrook Invitational on September 27, Anna High School Rocket Invitational on October 4, SWBL conference meet on October 11, and the Yellow Springs XC invitational at Young’s Dairy on October 14.