What is Cross Country?

Cross Country is a team running sport that takes place from late summer through fall.  Cross Country meets are divided into boys and girls races.  At the middle school level, race distances are 2 miles while high school races are 5,000 meters (5K or 3.1 miles).  The meets are held on measured courses and are run over varied surfaces.  Many cross country meets are held on dirt or grass trails, in parks, or in large open areas near schools.  Some courses include some hills while others are flat.  Revere's home course is at Howe Meadow. 


How is Cross Country scored?

Cross Country running is scored on a team basis from the finish of the team's first five runners.  Points are awarded to individual runners equal to the position in which they cross the finish line (first place gets 1 point, second place gets 2 points, etc).  The lowest score wins.  In the example below, Revere would win the meet with 28 points.

    Revere                                                 Opponent
    Runner        Race Place                        Runner        Race Place
    1                        2                                        1                        1
    2                        3                                        2                        4
    3                        6                                        3                        5
    4                        8                                        4                        7
    5                        9                                        5                      12             
    Score:           28                                        Score:            29
                      
    6                     10                                         6                      13
    7                     11                                         7                      14
 

A team’s 6th and 7th finishers can also figure in the scoring if they place ahead of other teams top 5 finishers.  When that is the case, they become “pushers” by pushing up their opponent’s scores.  In the example above, Revere’s 6th and 7th runners finished ahead of the opponents 5th runner, helping to win the meet.  If the score is tied after figuring the places of the top 5 finishers, the team with the fastest 6th runner wins the meet. The lowest possible score in a five-to-score race is 15 (1+2+3+4+5), achieved by a team’s runners finishing in each of the  top five positions.