Running is a culture.
Culture is cool. You never really understand what it means to be cultured until you take a step back and look at why we do what we do. It’s something that you don’t exactly understand or see at first until you take a more pragmatic view at it.
Looking back on my High school running career, the typical things stick out to me in my recollection. The victories, the hot summer workouts, the good races and the bad, the team summer camps and the out of state meets. At first thought, my reasoning behind these memories as to why they still stick in my mind, was because they were fun or happy times. But now that I’m away at college in a whole other world of cultures and dynamics, I can see more clearly why those things have remained special to me.
My coach preached culture. And when I say preach, I absolutely mean preach. He was a psychology teacher that understood the way our brains worked like no other. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on if you really actually wanted to run cross country to be better. But man, when our guys bought into that culture that we worked hard to create, we were a force to be reckoned with on the course.
One of my favorite accomplishments that shows the importance and power of culture was achieving a team goal that we had set in the spring. Every guy on the team by the end of cross country would run under 21 minutes for the 5k. At the time we had probably ten guys that still hadn’t gone under 24. When most teams list off their goals, they usually focus on the Varsity team, with the focus being the state championship meet or the conference meet or even a postseason Nike meet. This goal was different because it involved each and every guy on our team that wore a uniform. For this reason, our band of 30 guys came together and we were feeling the mojo. As the season went on, our younger and slower guys didn’t fade or get bored as they felt a responsibility to the team to keep training and working till the end. That momentum we produced helped launch us from not being ranked all season long, to a 9th place finish in the state meet after conference, district titles and a regional runners up placing. That culture that we formed that year has carried over into this year, as the returners were not satisfied with that result and worked and were state runners up this year. That is the power of culture.
Our culture was centered on the ideas of commitment to the team, both in training and racing, developing mental toughness and that this was a journey that held no greater success than that shared amongst each other. As I look back now, it is the culture that made those experiences so sweet, the fact that I shared that journey with 30 other guys and am now linked to those that came before me who walked the same paths I did. Our team motto was “Under Construction, Building an Empire.” Thanks to the dedication and efforts of those that came before us we were part of a winning culture and one that demanded high performance. Fueled by traditions, the desire to achieve our goals, and the bond we shared with our teammates, we overachieved and enjoyed every step of the way.
My advice to those still in their days as a High School runner would be this. Enjoy every practice, race, meet and moment spent with your team. There is magic in spending hours with the same group of people, pushing your body to the limit day in and day out to achieve a common goal. That magic takes the form of Culture. Run your heart out, cheer for everyone, and no matter what, don’t forget the bonds and memories you’ve made along the way.
- Ian Cook ( @cioaonk )
Hilliard Davidson ‘17, BYU ‘21
