Regular Summer Practices - BACK for 2025 season!
A word from Assistant Coach Adrienne Stokley:
"I will be coordinating XC practices two days a week in the B/CS area. These practices will start Tuesday, May 27, 2025, and we will meet at 7:00am to begin with until it gets too hot! We will meet Tuesdays and Saturday mornings throughout June and July. Anyone wanting to be included in the email loop for summer practice should email me directly at [email protected], and I will add them to the list! Days and times are subject to change based on weather and schedules, so it will be important to keep in touch."
Important 2025 Dates for your Calendars:
Tues, May 27 - Summer practices begin (see above) - led by Coach Stokley.
Fri, July 4 - Third annual Aggieland Panther Firecracker 5K @ the Stella Hotel.
Tues, July 22 - 6:00A Fall practices begin - led by Coach Ely.
Thurs, July 31 - Special benchmarks must be met (see below).
What to do before & what to bring to the first official fall practice on July 22:
(If you are traveling & unable to attend our first official team practice on Tues, July 22, then bring these items to the first practice that you do come to. Athletes will not be able to participate without them.)
-Athletes must complete the online registration form before coming to practice.
-Athletes must print & complete & bring this form to their first practice: Runner Profile.
-Athletes must bring certain supplies (like water & a wristwatch) to each practice. For a complete list of required items at practice, visit our Uniforms & Supplies page.
Regular Fall Practices
Our team typically meets together for practices (1.5 hours long) on 3 mornings each week at a local park within the BCS area**.
Team Practice days are on Tues and Sat mornings during June and most of July. Tuesday, July 22 is official start of 6:00A practices with Coach Ely, on every Tues, Thurs, Sat morning. However, beginning Tuesday, Aug. 26, practice days will (likely) switch to Tues/Wed (yes, back-to-back mornings) @ 6:00A. Races will almost always be on Saturday mornings. If we don't have a Saturday meet, expect a Saturday practice.
Required Benchmarks by July 31:
Athletes should be able to run 3 miles continuously without walking.
Athletes should be able to run 2 miles under 20 minutes.
Athletes should be prepared to run a 1-mile "Time Trial" (race effort) on July 30.
NOTE: Evaluations of athletes will be conducted by the Coaches during the first week of practice (July 22-31), and only those athletes who meet the required benchmarks (above) will be allowed to participate in Cross Country for Fall 2025.
Training Logs
Like previous years, we are strongly encouraging athletes to log their cross country training, including summer running on their own. A simple spiral notebook will do. Use one page for one week of training. , and tally your total miles for the week at the bottom of the page. Texting or emailing a picture of your log each week is welcomed and encouraged. :) Also like last year, we will do weekly email SHOUT-OUTS starting in June, to highlight athletes who check in with Coaches to report their weekly mileage and/or share their training logs.
NOTE!!: Although we limit team practices to 3 days/week as explained above, athletes will be expected to train on 2-3 additional days/week, on their own, as recommended by their coach(es). For a total of 5-6 days of training each week. If you know from the onset that you cannot or will not give this type of commitment, we ask that you not join Aggieland Cross Country. We are a competitive running team (not a PE class or running club) and athletes should be coachable & willing to give their best & train/race with a winning mindset.
NOTE about weather: Typically, if there's a light rain/drizzle we continue to hold practice. If there is heavy rain OR thunderstorms, we cancel. Last minute cancellations and other announcements will be made thru the Remind text (it's important to register early, when registration opens, so that you can be added to our email/text lists.)
Locations for Practice:
Training locations will vary depending on the type of workout. We will vary the location to take advantage of different terrain (hills vs flat), surface type (grass/dirt/cinder vs cement/asphalt), purpose (short intervals needing a "track" vs long days needing variety), etc. The reason for diverse training venues is 1) to make practices interesting, 2) because we also compete on diverse courses, & 3) to hopefully prevent injury by running on grass & soft terrain as often as possible. Practice sites will be announced via email & Remind txt. (It's important to register early, when registration opens, so that you can be added to our email/text lists.) The practice sites we regularly use include:
Parent Participation: