By Amanda Maurer

110 degrees! That’s hot! Just ask anyone on the high school cross country team about it, as they beat the heat running for two hours, four days out of the week. Each day they run up to five miles! Not only are they getting in a good run each day, they are also making sure to stay safe while doing so.

Sophomore Kailee Austin says, “The team wears masks while we’re warming up and stretching. Then when we go on a long run, we take them off and try to social distance as best as we can while still getting in a good workout.”

Plus, with all the hard work they put in at practice, the team has great success at meets. Over the weekend of Sept. 19, the Tempe Prep high school cross country team had their first cross country meet. Each meet consists of a 5k run, where the athletes run to get new personal records, and compete against other teams as well.

Following the first meet, they have had two more. Just like at practice, the meets are set up to safely run your race. They all practice social distancing and wear masks until they are directed to take them off at the start line, and put them back on at the finish line.

As the season slowly starts to come to an end, the team is preparing for their sectional meet on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Sophomore runner Catherine Ross says, “This is a sectional meet which means you can qualify to go to state if you place in the top seven girls or boys individually or the top five teams.”

Let’s all wish for these Knights to have an amazing end to another season of running!