A gun fires and feet pound the earth. Pure adrenaline fuels hundreds of runners for those first few blessed minutes before the burning of lungs and the aching of muscles sets in. For those first few minutes, it feels more like flying than running. This is the appeal of cross-country running. Specifically, this is the appeal of cross-country racing.
At the end of this month, NC State’s Club Cross Country team will host its first race of the season at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Run with the Pack 5K is in its second year, and club president Mark Heidenfeldt, a fourth-year studying computer and electrical engineering, said that the team’s goal now is to draw more runners to the event.
“We did this last year,” Heidenfeldt said. “We had seven teams come from Maryland all the way down to South Carolina. We’re trying to grow that this year and have more teams come. Hopefully, we can have more community members come run as well.”
Heidenfeldt and club treasurer Ben Talbert, a third-year studying industrial engineering, both agree that the feeling of community is the best part of any sports program.
“I ran cross-country and track all four years of high school,” Talbert said. “After senior year, I wasn’t done. I wanted to have that team community. There’s lots of good ways to be involved, but being on a team? There’s nothing compared to that.”
The team wants the community feel of this program to extend beyond them and out to the surrounding areas as well. Heidenfeldt said 25 percent of profits from the Run with the Pack 5k will go to a nonprofit called Family Promise of Wake County to aid in outreach.
Both Heidenfeldt and Talbert have been a part of the team for their entire college careers. The runners said this experience has introduced them to all types of amazing people.
“Last fall, we had 111 paying members,” Talbert said. “There were lots of opportunities to get to know people of all backgrounds and majors.”
With this large support system, club members are encouraged to accomplish more even outside of running.
“I think it’s cool that last year we had around three foreign exchange students on our team,” Heidenfeldt said. “I think that caused two or three of our people to want to go and study abroad themselves.”
Just watching club members race makes it apparent that they can accomplish impressive feats. The team is the reigning regional champion, with the men’s team holding this honor for three years and the women’s team for one. Member Carmen Davis, a third-year studying chemical and textile engineering, has been named Club Female Athlete of the Year for the past two years. Also in the past two years, the team has boasted four All-American runners.
“Our officers are running in the top two or three spots [of the races],” Heidenfeldt said. “And all of them are really humble about it. I don’t hear them brag about themselves.”
Run with the Pack 5K is the only event that the team will be hosting this year, but it is far from the only event in which they will participate. They also have upcoming races in Greensboro and Asheville in October, followed by championship races in South Carolina and Michigan.
The social side of the club is thriving as well; Heidenfeldt said that club members often get together outside of races and practices.
“We have membership options for both people who do race and people who won’t race,” Heidenfeldt said. “For people who just want to exercise with other people. I know I can just go out there and have fun.”
Competition can be fun also, Heidenfeldt and Talbert agree.
“The opportunity to get faster and still compete without the commitment of a varsity team was a selling point [of joining the team] for me,” Talbert said. “I wanted to continue running because I felt like I had more potential. If I keep working at it, I’ll get better.”
Talbert added that this potential was not just limited to his position as a runner but could apply to his position as a student as well.
“It’s been pretty valuable,” Talbert said. “The opportunity to be an officer, to help run things within the club — I’m actually getting a lot of budgeting experience.”
The selling points of cross-country running are diverse and differ from person to person, but the most prominent are perhaps the health benefits. Many people pick up running to lose weight or get in shape.
“You don’t have to go from zero to a marathon in one day, but realize your own potential,” Heidenfeldt said.
Talbert added his own advice. “Know your limits,” Talbert said. “Listen to your body.”
The Run with the Pack 5k will be held on Sept. 23 with the collegiate races beginning at 9:30 a.m. For any students who are interested in learning more about the team, they are reachable through their Facebook page at NCSU Club Cross Country and Track.
Officers and members of the Club Cross Country Team wait for practice to start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Newcomers were told to bring a water bottle and to come dressed in running clothes and shoes.
