Kansas cross country uses rural runs to prep for Big 12 Championship
The belief that Kansas is a pancake flat state is proven false every day when the Kansas cross country runners take to the rolling hills outside of Lawrence for their training runs. With 20 routes to choose from, assistant coach Michael Whittlesey can challenge runners with hills that test the VO2 Max of the best runners.
Whether it is a run on a course named Camelback, Turkey Trot, Buck Creek or Pleasant Grove, the KU distance corps can develop their fitness on scenic routes that take them away from major traffic in town and allows runs on softer dirt or gravel surfaces to save their legs from pounding on concrete pavement.
That fitness, honed from the miles of training, will be tested on Saturday, October 29, at the Big 12 Cross Country Championship at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. Kansas will look to improve on its fourth-place finish for the women and fifth-place finish for the men at the 2015 Championships.
Members of the women’s KU cross country team ran down a hill along the Pleasant Grove route the team used for training on Thursday, October 20.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
One of two KU vans used to transport the runners followed a pack on the 8.5-mile loop. Each runner has a distance to finish for the day’s training. The vans provide safety and can pick up runners as needed along the rural roads south of Lawrence.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
Sophomore Sharon Lokedi, the second All-American in program history after her 10th-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships, cruised along a gravel road.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
The scenic Kansas setting provided a backdrop as junior Adel Yoonis peaked a climb.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
Freshman George Letner, senior Markeen Caine, freshman Bryce Hoppel and Yoonis led groups of KU runners down a steep grade.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
Lokedi cruised to the finish of her run as the late afternoon sun cast shadows across the road.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
Freshman Avery Hale, sophomore Dylan Hodgson and freshman Marcus Quere passed a mailbox that served as the finish line for their run.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
Hale, Hodgson and Quere caught their breath after their 8.5-mile run.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
The KU trio greeted Lokedi as the foursome cooled down before their trip back to the KU campus.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
Assistant coach Michael Whittlesey reviewed the day’s efforts with the KU runners.
Photo by Jeff Jacobsen
