Nov 217 min read

Your Ultimate Guide To Cross-country: 14 Tips for Running XC

"Cross-country is essential to every endurance athlete's development"- Seb Coe. In my view, most runners should participate in cross-country every year. There a huge benefits to taking part in cross-country for runners, it can help you to build strength, improve your form, and run faster. If you are aware of what cross-country can do for you and you're taking part, then you may want some tips for how to run cross-country and tackle the course.

Cross-country is completely different from any other form of racing. Your time couldn't matter less. It's you against the course, the conditions, and the other runners. Often runners don't care about their position as long as they're happy with their time, cross-country is the complete opposite. Every position matters, regardless of whether you're 1st or 100th. All that matters is which vest finishes in front of which vest.

Eilish McColgan recommends that runners don't wear their watches for cross-country races, because it's just you against the course and the other runners, not the clock.

In a cross-country race, you're going to face conditions in which you would be outraged if they were found in a road race. There will be hills, rivers, mud up to your ankles, obstacles to jump over, and a lot of sharp turns. These conditions change the game.

When I ran in University there were runners who I could beat pretty comfortably on the road but who could beat me on the cross-country. There were certain cross-country races where I could beat them and certain ones where the conditions wouldn't suit me and I'd be left for dead.

14 Tips for Running Cross-country

These tips will be split into 2 parts:

5 Tips to train for cross-country
9 Tips for racing cross-country

5 tips to train for Cross-country:

1) Run hills

Cross-country demands a lot from you. The course is going to ask some serious questions about your leg strength, make sure you have the answers.

Running hills is the most running-specific strength workout you will find. Develop the power and strength in your legs by getting some hill repeats in.

By doing some hill sessions you are going to help prepare your body for when you inevitably come across a nasty hill in your race.

2) Train in the gym

Another great way to develop your strength is by doing some strength work in the gym. This will help you to prevent running injuries from happening, improve your running form, and improve your strength and speed.

You will manage to tackle the course better if you have spent some time in the gym building your leg strength.

One study found that: Strength Training Helps With Cross-country Running Performance.

3) Train your core strength

Cross-country is full of twists and turns and uneven ground. This is all going to be pulling you off balance. Whilst cross-country can help train your core, you should also be training your core in the gym to help maintain posture and form whilst running on the cross.

If you have a weak core then you're going to be wasting a lot of energy by the course throwing you off balance. This wasted energy adds up and can take it out of you through the full length of the race.

4) Develop your aerobic capacity with long runs

Cross-country races are usually quite a long distance. It is often overlooked when it comes to cross-country training how important it is to develop your aerobic capacity and the best way to do that is to be consistently doing long runs.

Also, cross-country is run in the winter and this is when runners should have their focus on developing their aerobic capacity. Developing your aerobic capacity and cross-country go hand in hand.

You may also like: Aerobic Base Building: Your Complete Guide.

5) Train off-road

It is always best to keep your training specific, so it would be best for your cross-country training if you mainly trained off-road to help you get used to the feeling and technique of running off-road.

Also running off-road has the side-benefit of decreasing the risk of injury due to there being less impact on the legs.

9 tips for racing Cross-country:

1) Be careful with your spike selection

A seasoned cross-country runner will always have their spike key and a few options of spike lengths that they bring to every race. Usually, your options will be 9mm, 12mm, and 15mm. For nearly all of your races, 12mm will be perfectly fine, however, if it is super boggy then I would advise changing to some 15mm spikes.

Super shoes have been around for a fair few years now, but now there is a revolution with super spikes for cross-country. However, when it comes to super spikes, your money goes way further. Think about how many miles you will put on them each year; they are going to last a long time. They are also cheaper than most super shoes.

You may also like: Best Cross-country Spikes of 2024.

2) Walk the course

Luckily for you cross-country races are usually laps, this makes walking the course a much easier job. By taking a bit of time to walk the course before your race you can find out which areas you want to avoid, and what the best places to run on are, and you can give yourself a mental edge by knowing the course. This can also help you know what length spikes to take.

3) Get out fast

If you watch a few cross-country races, you can start to notice that often the person in 20th is running the same pace as the person in 30th. However, the runner in 20th got out faster, and then just settled into a different pack. Cross-country races start very fast, runners fight for position early, but be careful not to go off too fast.

The last thing you’re going to want is to be stuck behind a group of runners moving too slowly, however, the ideal situation is one where you get out fast, find the right group in the first mile, and work with them to battle to course.

4) Shorten your stride

On uneven ground, it is far better to run with a shorter stride to minimise the risk of slips, improve your agility, and make the running feel easier. Shortening your stride on cross-country means you can run with better posture, better cadence, and run with better economy.

Some studies have also shown that a shorter stride can help reduce the risk of injury.

Your stride will need to be even shorter when running up hills to stop you from landing too far in front of your centre of mass. Think about it- if you're striding out far in front of you when running up a hill, you have to get all of your body weight over the place when your foot lands, if it lands closer to you then this makes it much easier. A shorter faster stride will help you to conquer the hills with less effort.

However, you can feel free to open up your stride on the downhills and lean into the hill.

Cross-country is very much horses for courses. There are runners whose form suits running off-road because they have a higher cadence and sometimes more of a shuffle. However, if you watch the king of the cross- Kenenisa Bekele- his form is far from a shuffle, but his cadence is super high.

5) Warm-up properly

A warm-up is something most runners see as a chore they have to do to stop them from getting injured. However, warm-ups help you to run faster in the short term and develop you as a runner in the long term. Warm-ups prevent injury, help us run caste, and improve our form.

One study found that warm-ups improve running economy and reduce the perception of effort.

Be sure to go for a really slow jog first, then do some dynamic stretches, then some running drills, and finish with a few strides.

Try to find the flattest ground you can to run your warm-up on to conserve energy.

You may also like: Warm-ups Drills for Runners.

6) Tape on your spikes

Hopefully, unlike me, you won’t learn this the hard way.

Putting some duct tape around your laces can help prevent you from having to look through the mud for your left spike.

I don’t know if I have ever raced a British cross-country race where I haven’t seen a runner soldiering on with one shoe with a face full of regret for not taping their spikes.

I had one friend have to buy 3 sets of spikes in a season because, in 2 consecutive races, he managed to lose a spike. Some people take a while to learn a lesson.

Save yourself some money and discomfort by spending a few pounds and a few minutes to tape your spikes!

7) Speed up around the corners

This is a technique I have used numerous times to break “the invisible elastic band” between me and a runner who I can’t quite get rid of.

When you are trying to break away from a runner who is tracking you, try speeding up after you go around a tight corner to give yourself a few extra yards. If they are tracking you and you manage to gain a few extra yards when they don’t expect it, this can give you momentum and mentally break them. After a sharp corner is the perfect time to start to pick up the pace.

This is a great technique in cross-country that can’t be replicated on track or road because of the lack of sharp turns.

8) Be aggressive

Cross-country makes you mentally strong. You're in the mud, elbow to elbow, often banging against other runners. It’s time to find a nice flow state between being relaxed but aggressive.

You need to stay calm to not waste energy, but being aggressive against the obstacles and the mud can help you drive those knees and put your mind in a place where you really don’t want to let anyone past you.

9) Wrap up warm

Cross-country never ends up just being get there race and go. You have to get there a bit early, you will probably stay late to watch another race and if not you're still there an hour later because of the promise of cake. Also, you don't want to be cold before your race. Wrapping up warm can really change how much you enjoy the day.

For these cold winter cross-country races be sure to have: