Cross country is back from their week off and is set to compete at Myers Park on Saturday in the annual Lovejoy XC Fall Festival.

“This week’s practices have been all about conditioning with hills as Myers Park is one of the toughest courses we run all year, a lot of ups and downs,” coach Ben Manning said. “For the kids, I don’t want them to focus on times or placements as it varies, but to continue to build upon what we’ve been working on every week and to stay healthy while competing hard.”

The Redhawks have been constantly pushing themselves to their limits even during the off week and the effects are starting to set in.

“I know I won’t be able to set a personal record on a course as demanding as this one and we’ve been pushing mileage every week, everyone is starting to feel the aches and pains,” freshman Gabriella Jurado said. “Our main goal is running with a pack mentality, there are 5 of us in the elite girls division that work and run well together so if we can keep that up, the less people in between us which means less points.”

Sophomore Dominic Ward has never experienced this course but that isn’t going to stop him from performing well.

“I’ve heard this is a hard meet and there’s definitely pressure because I’m running varsity, but I’m not gonna let it get to me,” Ward said. “The most important thing is to not give up because I’ve heard it’s happened in the past so I’ll make sure I keep pushing through.”