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One of the best mind games advice I got for XC was if you are running just ahead of someone anytime you make a turn and you are out of sight for a couple of seconds throw in a quick burst 3-5 steps. When your competitor comes around that turn and sees that 1-2 meter lead open to 5-7 meter lead it will be dejecting.

My coach always told me to remember that everyone is running in the same elements. Rain, snow, hills, mud, etc., and some people will give up because of that, which is good for you! He also told me, that when you start really hurting at 1.5-2mi, everyone else is also hurting. You have to use these to your advantage

Most high school runners go out too fast and run positive splits. I did alright with conservative starts but there were a few races where I got sucked along with a hot pace and suffered like everybody else.

I finally got over worrying about pace, and once I did PRs came with it. All you have to do is race, times come when you race well

I appreciate this man. I got a meet with 230 schools tomorrow, and it was rated as the toughest course in New Jersey. These points definitively will help me out pre and post race. Thank you.

One thing my coach told me before he stopped coaching was “You have to be willing to push through the pain in order to achieve something great” And every time I think of this quote I always push through the pain and I feel so much better afterwards (mentally) because I know that I gave it my all and I ran a good time because I ran a hard race

Who's got a race coming up?

Watching this 2 days out from a flat course race. Gonna be a nice quick one. Thanks Spencer

Adding to what you said in the end of the video, my coach always says to have a short term memory in cross. If you have a bad race just move onto the next one. He always reminds us of our work ethic, and how our race is coming soon if we just keep working.

my freshman brother ran 17:20 bc of this, thank you so much!! I do 3k's and I am 3rd on the team :D

I’m going into college XC and this was very helpful. Also I loved that Mario cart clip 😂

My regional xc is tomorrow and last year I came 8th missing out my 2 spots

I used to feel incredibly sick on game day. I was all jittery and had lots of nerves and it made me feel awful. I would end up performing badly and it upset me. But when I started to realise that the sick feeling I was having was all the adrenaline in my system and it would go away as soon as I started playing, my games started to go a lot better. Like you said it’s your body preparing for war. If you try and shift your mindset from “I don’t feel good so I won’t perform good and I’m super nervous” to “I can feel the adrenaline and I can’t wait to get going so I can channel this feeling somewhere” things will start to go a lot better and you’ll have way more fun.

As my coach always says, “last mile, best mile”

As a former xc runner and current xc coach I love this video. I know what I want to say to my athletes but I couldn't put it in words, but I love the way you put things!

Commenting this the day before my last high school league championship race. This video has quickly become a large part of my prerace rhythm lol.

I improved my time by 3 minutes, I wasn’t last, and I beat the girl that kept passing me. This was so helpful!!! I appreciate it!

I am in 8th grade a team the start of my season and this helped a lot I got a 14 minute 2 mile

I got a big race tomorrow, I’ve been trying all season to get a sub 17:00, I’m at 17:32 right now, and this video makes me feel better.

Nobody will take this advice because it's a whole lifestyle change, but eating a very low or zero carb diet is the true way to fuel the body. I ran XC for seven years in high school, and ate a lot of carbs all the time and especially before races. I was pretty good, nothing sensational but I was consistently third on the team and went to states. However I never felt very good when I raced, I was always hurting, as you say. Ten years later I came back to running after a debilitating chronic illness (so bad I couldn't sit up straight or stand for more than 10 minutes), which I healed from by eating a zero carb diet. So naturally I am running now on a zero carb diet and I am FIERCE. I have only been training again for two months, doing a lot less mileage and a lot less strength/cross training, and I'm already faster than I was in high school. And I feel way way wayyyyy better when I run. I don't get that "hurting" feeling when I run hard. Not to say I don't get tired, but nothing actually hurts, I don't get chest tightness or breathlessness or stitches/cramps or a sudden draining feeling in my body. I have a deep pool of energy I can pull from even when I start to feel tired, and if I ever do need to dial it back like after pushing a steep hill, my recovery is very quick. The truth is that "fat burning," which is the metabolic state of ketosis, is far healthier and more efficient than carb burning. Fat actually gives more than double the amount of energy per gram than carbohydrates, so you can burn less of it for the same energy output, which means your energy reserves last much longer if you're using fat as your fuel source. However the body will only tap into your fat stores when your glucose stores dry up, so you cannot easily access this metabolic state if you are eating carbohydrates, because the body will always use those first. Evidence actually suggests that the "second wind" phenomenon you may get during a long race is actually the body going into the state of ketosis to meet energy demands, and that's why you may feel a sudden burst of strength and speed. Anyway, I figured I'd drop that here for anyone who trawls through comments sections. If you're looking for a way to up your running game, try dropping all carbs and eating only fatty meat (red meat is by far the best), eggs, and dairy if you're not allergic. Many professional athletes eat this way and all of them swear by it just like me.

HOW DID YOU KNOW MY CROSS COUNTRY WAS TOMMOROW! Thanks for the tips on my division cross country!

About to go into my first cross country season since school (I'm 29, just doing my local county XC league here in the UK) and this was actually really helpful. It'll be very different to the trail and fell racing I'm used to and a 10 year gap means my memories of XC are a bit hazy 😂 Great tips!

Spencer, these videos have been very inspirational and you have been a guy that has helped me in many ways, good job and thanks for the great vids

Funnily enough, I am watching this video the day before my cross country race against another school and this got recommended to me. Thanks for the advice!

If you're an "800m guy" like Spence you can handle a fast first 200m-400m (which could be like a 30 sec 200m or a 65 for 400m). "Pure distance guys" without raw anaerobic and raw speed can destroy their race by making the first 60 sec too fast and flooding themselves with lactate. If it's a 5km or 8km xc race you should have plenty of time to pass people. My strategy was always to work the middle or 2nd mile when people slow down/lag and save any "sprint" you have for the finishing kick! When I ran NCAA DI XC Nationals the lead pack split the first 800m in like 2:05 (for a 10km!). I was buried back in like 180th place going out in like 2:15 for the first 800m...but if you are disciplined and well trained you can mow people down in the middle of the race. I wasn't quite All American in XC, but I passed 100 guys during the race.

It’s the night before my XC meet I’m a freshman in high school and this I just what I need, Thanks

watching this before our final race tomorrow, will diffidently use these tips for the race. thanks! Something I've found out (I'm sure many people have done this) but try and keep a rhythm with your breathing, it makes it a lot less stressful when running.

I have a race today lol. Thanks for the tips, you can never learn too much.

Wish I had this content back when I was running XC in high school!

Favourite parkrun is of course Chester where I have volunteered 200+ times. Last week I was visiting friends and managed a PB of 20:10 at Clumber Park with an age graded score of 78.84% all with my 60th birthday less than a month away! Great video as always and I’ve never known what the age graded scores meant until I saw this - thanks.

I just started my second season of cross country and I’m shooting for 16-17 minutes for two miles. Thanks for the tips. Also last year I was doing it just to stay healthy but I’m starting to truly enjoy it and become closer to my team.

my xc season is about to start. this really helped thanks ❤

When I started XC last year (8th grade) my race times were like 25 minutes for 2 miles. If I remember correctly, my 4th or 5th race I had just managed to cut it down to around 20:30. I had no idea how it happened, but the weather was really nice that day, so that might have been it. My current (pre-HS) record time is 19:58 I think. This stuff is for sure gonna help with my next 4 years doing this sport.

Another thing about these mind games, you have to be willing to run harder in the race when it’s hard to run. After that hill, everyone else will be thinking “I’m so tired. I can slow down on the down hill and catch my breath.” But you have to think differently and push harder than them while they are going easier. When they see you going faster than them on the uphill AND the downhill AND the flat after the downhill, they will think you are a different breed of human. That is when you show how mentally tough you are.

I am watching this the day before my biggest race of the year!

You posted this video a day after I got a pr in the 5k, almost good timing but i still have a couple races this season

States is this week and had to watch something about XC

Looked like footage from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. I ran a Masters Club National XC race there in 2014

I have three xc races this week had one yesterday one tomarrow and one saterday. I love the tips you gave in this video

I signed up for XC at 1 pm today for jh, and here we are.

As a coach for 25 years, I appreciate your experience and the advice you give about the mental side of racing. I wish, however, that you'd said more about preparation - both mental and physical - from the time you arrive at a meet to the time the gun goes off. What you think and do during the course tour and warm-up can be crucial to tuning your mind as well as your body before the start of the race. Perhaps in another video...

It’s the morning of my cross country race, been sick recently and my sore throat is coming back but I’m gonna hope that I’m fine

Love the video my strategy is it is a hill course I try to beat people on the hill and I also try to stay in the front but let the others push them self’s too much to where they push too hard and then I pass them I tried your strategy and I did better and I got a higher place thanks

I’m running great American xc festival tmr good timing

I’ve learned from my first high school year of cross country is it’s almost all a mental thing

I have a race in 3 days and it's the BIGGEST one all year. Best timing ever!!!

I’m watching this two days before the official season in my school district starts 😅

I’m watching dis before west regionals (MS Girls) dis is my last race of da season

Going into my next schoolyear, I’m excited to run. Also literally don’t want to run again. It’s a cc thing.

It is important not to worry to much about the day or night before the race everybody is nervous. Better work on getting in plenty of carbs in the week before. Whole grain pasta with bolognese is great. Get the sleep the week before make sure that this is well.

THE GOAT, love these man

FANTASTIC VIDEO to show young competitors. Thank you 👍

Lets see if this helps before my last cross country race of highschool

Got a race tonight!!

I am watching this 3 days before my first reace

My cross contry is in two days 💪

Just ran a race and then saw this! 😂

A gel with coffine is often a good kick. Be sure to be used to it in Training.

i watched this video the day after my race lol

Got a race where our D1 school is racing in a D3 race, I’m projected to be in top 10 with my PR of 19:04, and I still feel nervous😭 this video helps

Here a day before the conference meet

A great and simple thing to do halfway through a race is to simply smile. It sounds silly but I tell my athletes to smile and they do visibly go faster afterwards.

thank you for this vid I am in my last year of middle school xc and this helps a lot.

Nice job Xcountry, like most sports, is so mental

I am watching the day before

I have a XC race tomorrow so good timing

I ran a 5k in like 23 minutes as a middle schooler

Just had my last race of the year 2 days ago. Wish I would have seen this earlier 😢

Nice video... watching this the night before a race!

Just had my race I placed 12 out of 88 and I feel disappointed because it was my first race ever and I wanted top 3 so now I’m sprint 3 miles in my neighborhood

This helped alot, i have a highschool race tomorrow in Lyman CT and ive been a bit stressed

my freshman year i routinely ate a lunchable 20 minutes before my race. I didn't throw up a single time that year

Thx to this video, I ended the season with a lifetime PR of 18:40 (website says 44 but there’s often a small margin of error of about a couple seconds) I ran my best season this year and I can’t wait for my final senior year next year where I think I’ll be able to break 17s if I really try and train for it.

Pre state meet in 2 days🤙🤙🤙trying to go sub 17. Florida XC

I’ve got cross country on Saturday

Yep I am

hey everyone. i’m 13 and this is my 2nd year of doing cross country. my best time for 2 miles is 15:15 which i’m not sure is good or not but if y’all have any tips please share them with me.

Have you ever heard the song "White Horse" by Chris Stapleton? If not, I would highly recommend listening to it .

I am seeing this 2 days before my xc meet lol

my race is tomorrow at mundy park its my 4th race in my entire life and hope i can do better than last race with 18min and 13sec

Watching this the day before a big invitational!!!

This is before my race❤

I have my year 6 cross country in 7 days and even though I am a great long distance runner I am very nervous and find it hard to endure the pain whilst running. I am doing 3 kilometers

I am watching this the day before regionals

I can honestly say that place matters more because you might actually get a pr by placing high enough

I tried so much. I run slower in the start but I still place bottom 10. I’m just not good enough for highschool XC. I feel terrible, and inadequate. But I just feel like garbage. I’m so bad. But there’s hope. I can be good at running in my late teens (I’m 17) and early 20s.

Thanks for the tips!

My race is this Tuesday…. At first I was stressing out a lot, but this video really helped me to calm down. As well as to formulate a better plan. Thank you so much this video was very helpful!

Watching this the day before my first adult cross country race

Wait omg that Leigh race was so close to where I live, I was just at Paul Short last weekend

Yes bro 10:00 pm before Paul short tomorrow 😂😭

I got a race tomorrow thanks

Bruh that’s me too watching it the night before the meet

i’m watching it the day of bc i have a night race 🤩

Ya the day before😆😆

Thanks Spence

Watching the day before my race

Me my race is next week on Tuesday

I had a meet last week and I got a 28:41 how should I train to break 25