John Millea: Cross-country runners competing for more than victory

After watching a cross-country race one day this autumn, I did what reporters usually do after sporting events: talk with the winner. On this particular day, the girls' field was stronger than the boys', so the main interview target was the champion of the girls' race.

She smiled as we talked. She felt great about her accomplishment, and deservedly so. Winning is a wonderful thing.

But in some sports -- and cross-country is a prime example -- winning often has nothing to do with why people compete. So that same day, I talked to some of the non-winners.

The best thing about cross-country is that everybody makes the team and everybody has chances to race. My favorite cross-country events have several races: varsity, junior varsity and C races.

On this particular day, the winner of the girls' varsity race covered 4,000 meters in slightly less than 15 minutes. The last finisher in the C race had a time of almost 28 minutes.

The boys' varsity champion ran 5,000 meters and hit the finish line in about 16½ minutes. The last boy to finish the C race had a time of almost 30 minutes.

The fields for the two varsity races were limited to seven runners from each school. The junior varsity number was 15. For the C race, the field was unlimited.

For many runners, time is not of the essence. The experience of being part of the team is much more important.

"Our team is really close," said Bree Burich, a senior from Eagan. "We have a group called the C Group, and one of the seniors is the captain of the C Group. So we're like our own little posse."

Burich was standing with teammates Claire Olson and Maria Lasusa. They had cooled down after running the C race, and they were happy to talk about being end-of-the-pack athletes.

"We have a really supportive team, and it's just awesome being on the team with other people," Lasusa said. "I do it for me, so I'm not comparing myself to everyone else."

Olson said, "I do sports to stay in shape and keep active in a mental sense."

Staying in shape is important for reasons that we might not all consider. This race was held a few days before a big event at Eagan. As Burich told me, "Homecoming's coming up on Saturday, so I do it to stay in shape for that."

The girls also talked about making new friends through cross-country, as well as the lack of stress.

"You don't have pressure to be first, so it's more fun," Burich said. "It's the best sport. In cross-country, you make such good friends."

After the boys' C race, I saw a group of very young-looking boys from Osseo walk from the finish area toward their team's big orange-and-black tent. I wandered to the tent and discovered how young they really were. Randy Erdmann, Anders Evenson, Brian Bristol and Sam Salguero range from seventh to ninth grade.

They all said friends convinced them to go out for cross-country. Evenson said it helped him get in shape for the skiing season.

"I started because my friend thought it would be fun if I joined," Erdmann said. "I've gotten a kick out of it, and I've learned a lot and met a lot of new people. It's been a fun experience."

Bob Ertl coaches the boys' and girls' cross-country teams at Lakeville North. I asked him about the kids who run the slowest, and here's what he said:

"You have future doctors, lawyers, construction workers, moms and dads on a team. Those kids work just as hard as the first kid in the race. It takes a lot of pride in what you're doing to stay out there that long, and we think as highly of them as our faster runners. Those kids learn to work and be successful in life. If you've got to stick it out for 3.1 miles or 2.5 miles and keep working regardless of your ability, that's like you and I in life. We've got to stay with it."

John Millea • jmillea@startribune.com