Seclusion is a powerful, all-too-familiar feeling for any runner, and it’s no different for the North Carolina cross country team.
But its antidote is simple: Running together.
That’s what UNC did this summer, when the runners trained with each other in Chapel Hill, putting in anywhere from 60 to 100 miles per week, junior Isaac Presson said.
“It was a different summer than normal because we had no coach,” he said. “But I think it turned out to be a good thing.”
It’s Nationals-or-bust this season, Presson and sophomore Scott Morgan said, and that mind-set is what powers them through the mileage.
“The only goal is to make Nationals as a team,” Presson said. “The season is defined by Nationals.”
The team, which opens the season today at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, is drastically different from last year’s squad, in personnel, attitude and chemistry.
UNC hired former University of North Florida director of track and field Mark VanAlstyne as its head coach Aug. 9, just weeks before the start of the season, and his runners are an interdependent crew that has grown significantly since last season.
“There’s a big emphasis this year on teamwork,” Presson said. “Running in packs in both races and workouts … there’s a good energy to the team.”
Assistant Angela Reckart, also formerly of North Florida, described it similarly.
