As the leaves turn brown and the nights get longer, the autumn marathon and half-marathon season draws to a close, but cross country season is just getting started. If you’ve never tried cross country racing before, there are plenty of reasons to give it a go…

Cross country is fun

Don’t let memories you may have of your school-day cross country runs put you off. Clambering through muddy, hilly, uneven fields, while taking in some seriously spectacular scenery, gives you an unbeatable buzz. It will make you feel like a kid again (in a good way!) but without the grumpy PE teacher shouting at you. Unlike road races or treadmill running, where you might find yourself checking your watch to see how far you have left to go, you’ll be far too distracted by the beautiful scenery to even think about being bored – or check your pace for that matter.

It will challenge you

Running hard over challenging terrain is hard work. The mud, hills and uneven surface will conspire to make every step hard work and you’ll need to stay focussed to avoid tripping or falling. By comparison, it will make a road race seem like a carefree canter! It’ll also build mental strength that will serve you well in other races.

Read our tips for taking on your first cross country race.

It will make you a better runner

Proprioception is the automatic awareness we have of our body’s position in relation to the world around us. It means we can run without having to look down at our feet every step. Proprioception can be improved through things like cross-country training where you’re having to be super aware of the changing gradient and terrain.

It will make you a stronger runner

To prepare for a cross country race, you’ll need to run off-road, add in some strength training and run up some hills. Lots of hills. It will not only get you ready for that race, but in the longer term it’s also going to help make you a stronger, more resilient runner who is less prone to injuries.

Pace doesn’t matter in cross country

You might start your watch at the beginning of a cross country race and check occasionally to see how far you’ve run. But in terms of what the pace is telling you, you may as well ignore it. The uneven terrain, the mud and the hills are going to slow you down. Don’t expect to run anywhere near the pace that you would on the road. But this can be really liberating. Just ignore your watch and be guided by how your legs and lungs feel.

Cross country has a brilliant social aspect

Did somebody say cake? Cross country is a team sport so although you’re running as an individual, you’re also part of your club’s team. Each runner gets awarded points for their finishing position and the first finishers for each club score towards their team’s total. Even if you don’t make the first finishers for your club, your position may stop someone from a rival club scoring an extra point so every runner matters. Oh, and there’s usually a good amount of cake to enjoy together after.

More women need to take part in cross country

Unfortunately there is one major down side in cross country. Women and men often run separately, with women running a shorter race. Run Equal has been campaigning for all running events to provide the same status to women, men, girls and boys. This means: equal race distances for seniors and in each junior age category, equal age categories for women and men, and equal prizes and status of competitions. If more women take part in cross country, the louder our collective voice can be for change.