Cross Country

Fees

Registration Fee: $350 + $60 for a team hoodie and a team T-shirt.

Additional Costs: See gear, equipment, and team-related activities (see below). We strongly suggest all participants purchase the optional Grizzlies rain gear.

Occasionally, the team decides to purchase fun optional items to set themselves apart. Past examples include tear-away pants, matching crocs, and sunglasses. These items are purchased separately at the expense of each family.

Practice Schedule

The cross country team maintains a five-day per week schedule throughout the season commencing on the first day of practice in August and concluding at the State Championship meet on the first Saturday in November.

Practice starts at 3:45 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. and locations vary including but not limited to Bear Creek, Redmond Watershed, Marymoor Park, Farrel-McWhirter Park, Timberline Middle School, and other schools around the area. All practices run anywhere from 1-1/2 and 2 hours in length (1:45 is a good estimate). On Wednesdays, the team will meet for a study hall after school with practice starting at Bear Creek at 4:00 p.m. On non-meet Saturdays, we will have optional but highly recommended practice offsite at 9:00 a.m.

Team members should request to join our private Strava club for mileage tracking and to encourage accountability for days when athletes will need to run on their own.

Meet Schedule and Results

The team competes in three mid-week conference meets plus Conference Championships which require early dismissals. Invitational meets are held on Saturdays. See Cross Country Calendar (above).

All meet results are posted on athletic.net.

Anticipated Levels of Play

Everyone on the cross-country team may compete in every conference meet and invitational meets. However, participation at invitational meets is often limited by meet directors; when this occurs, participation will be determined by the coaching staff based on past performances and attendance.

District and State teams will be composed of nine athletes (nine men and nine women). Seven of these nine athletes will be runners and two will be alternates. Selection of our District/State nine will be determined by performance over the entirety of the season with the final decision being made by the coaching staff following the Conference Championship meet.

Transportation

Bear Creek does not organize or schedule rides for student-athletes to cross country practice. Transportation to all practices is scheduled and arranged by each family.

Bear Creek will provide transportation to all meets, both to the meet and back to Bear Creek. Students are not allowed to drive their own vehicles or arrange their own transportation. Athletes are permitted to leave meets with parents once all other athletes have finished competing. Parents must personally check their athletes out with the coach before leaving the meet.

Uniforms, Gear, and Equipment

The school provides uniform singlets and shorts which must be returned at the end of the season.

Other required equipment includes running shoes/spikes and appropriate running clothes. Additionally, there are several optional team gear items that players may purchase including warm-up pants and rain gear which may be purchased by filling out the order form before the beginning of the season.

Other Activities

The team plans dinners and other team events such as the midnight mile (first day of practice), mountain runs/hikes, and other events that are optional but invaluable to the team-building experience. Any costs associated with these activities would come at the expense of each family. After the Nike Twilight Invitational, the team traditionally goes out to dinner; everyone pays an equal amount upfront to cover that cost. 

At State, food and optional gear purchases will be at the expense of each family. The team will have an end-of-the-season awards banquet for athletes and their families where we will have a slideshow and present individual and team awards. 

Out of Season Activities

All team members are encouraged to attend our optional but highly encouraged summer practice open runs. The team meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:00 a.m. at locations in and surrounding the Redmond area. The cross-country season is only ten weeks long which makes summer training critical for individual and team success. The summer team practice schedules which include mileage and other information can be found on this page.

Team Camp

As a coaching staff, we highly recommend Clear Lake White Pass Cross Country Camp as our team camp for summer 2023. This camp runs for a week and is located at the White Pass Ski area at 4500-6000 ft of elevation. Athletes stay in ski condominiums with their teammates, have excellent meals served in the lodge, go on two runs a day, and are put in groups with other runners from across the state where they compete in various activities including 4-square, volleyball, Jenga, karaoke, etc. The camp includes various informational sessions, running form video review, and is overall a great learning and team experience for all athletes. Check out the camp's Facebook page for more information.

Mark your calendars now for team camp at the end of July 2023. Registration normally opens in October with all weeks filled by the state meet the first week of November. Coach Ben will provide registration information later this fall.

Nutrition, Hydration, and Iron

Nutrition, hydration, and iron levels are three of the most critical aspects that can either make or break a high school endurance runner’s season. We need all athletes to be eating healthily and plentifully. We encourage runners to bring some food items with protein to eat following our practices to begin the recovery process. 

Hydration is critical in cross country and is often overlooked by athletes as they get busy with other activities and schoolwork. While running, athletes can lose over a liter of water through sweating (evaporative cooling). We need to make sure that water is in our bodies, as well as replaced by our bodies following our workouts.

Iron is a newer concern for high school athletes and especially female high school athletes. We recommend all athletes, and highly encourage all female athletes to have both their iron and serum ferritin levels tested during their yearly sports physical. Low iron (anemia) and low ferritin levels can end a season quickly and for longer than almost any other visible physical injury. 

Additional nutrition resources are posted on this page.