Cross country races aren’t won in the last 100 meters—they are won in the hard, unglamorous middle miles where fatigue sets in, and mental toughness takes over.

In Episode 2 (“The Hill”) of our 4-part mini-documentary following the Penn Charter Girls XC team, we join the squad at Philadelphia’s historic Belmont Plateau for one of the most grueling training sessions on their calendar. If you missed Episode 1 (“Three Seconds”), you can catch up here.

Preparing for the Big Stage

Reflecting on last year’s performance at the Great American XC Festival, Head Coach Renee Gunning noted that going out too fast early in the race left the runners vulnerable on the final, decisive hill. To make sure that doesn’t happen again this season, the coaches designed a workout to prevent this from happening again:

  • 1x600m (at Rep pace – fast, aggressive opener to simulate race stress)
  • 4x800m (VO2max Intervals – holding precise rhythm and control)
  • 4x200m hill repeats (building power under heavy fatigue)

Being “Comfortably Uncomfortable”

As senior captain Marlie Klein notes, “You’re going to feel some pain in a workout or a race, but you wouldn’t be living if there was no pain.”

Throughout the episode, you’ll see how the team balances fierce execution with deep camaraderie. From Mackenzie Skelly and Berkeley Marcelis pushing each other through the 800s to runners begging to tackle an extra hill repeat, Episode 2 showcases a group that isn’t afraid of the work required to earn a trip to Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).

Episode 3 (“The Test”) drops next week (subscribe on YouTube to stay tuned)!

Looking to dial in exact training paces for your athletes’ quality sessions? Learn how V.O2 supports high school coaches and teams.