Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically 3–12 kilometres (1.9–7.5 mi) long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road and minor obstacles. It is both an individual and a team sport; runners are judged on individual times and teams by a points-scoring method. Both men and women of all ages compete in cross country, which usually takes place during autumn and winter, and can include weather conditions of rain, sleet, snow or hail, and a wide range of temperatures.
Newbury Park High School, opened in 1967, is a co-educational public high school located in Newbury Park, California.
Ryan Hall is a retired American long-distance runner who holds the U.S. record in the half marathon. With his half marathon record time (59:43), he became the first U.S. runner to break the one-hour barrier in the event. He is also the only American to run a sub-2:05 marathon. However, this time is not eligible to be a record due to the course being point-to-point and a net-downhill course. Hall won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic trials and placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing.
Jordan Melissa Hogan is an American distance runner. She grew up in Arroyo Grande, California, and attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo. She was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year by the voting panel at Track and Field News. In March 2009, she became the ninth high school athlete and third woman on the cover of Track and Field News magazine. She attended the University of Oregon, where she studied business administration and competed on the cross country and track and field teams earning 18 All-American honors, 2011 Mile and 3,000 meters NCAA titles. Her father was a high school basketball star in Pennsylvania, and her mother was a national level swimmer in her native England. Jordan Hasay is no longer coached by Alberto Salazar due to his suspension.
Timothy Ralph Danielson is a former American middle-distance runner. He is one of only 21 U.S. high school athletes to ever run the mile in under four minutes. In 2014, he was convicted of the first-degree murder of his ex-wife.
German Fernandez is a retired American professional runner from Riverbank, California, known for his performance in high school and collegiate cross country and track and field. Later he trained under Jerry Schumacher for the Bowerman Track Club. He is most well known for running the California Cross Country State Meet course record (14:24), as well as running a new American high-school record, 8:34.40 for two miles, at the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals championship. He also holds the World Junior Indoor Mile record at 3:55.02. A local meet in Riverbank, California, the German Fernandez Distance Carnival, is named after him.
Chris Derrick is an American distance runner who won 3 consecutive US Cross Country Championships in 2013–15. He attended Stanford University, where he earned 14 All-American honors and holds an American junior record in the 5000 meters.
Sara Hall is a professional American distance runner for ASICS. Hall's personal best time for the marathon is 2:20:32 set at the Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona on December 22, 2020, making her the third-fastest American woman in history. She is the second-fastest American woman ever to run the half marathon, running 1:07:15 on January 16, 2022–an American record at the time.
Patrick Tiernan is an Australian long-distance runner. While competing for Vilanova University, he won the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. He has represented Australia in several global competitions, including the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. He held the Australian record in the 10000 m from 2020 to 2022. Tiernan competes professionally for PUMA.
Kate Grace is an American middle-distance runner. A multiple All-American runner for Yale University, she turned professional in 2011. Grace competed for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, making it to the final of the 800 metres.
Katelyn Tuohy is an American professional middle- and long-distance runner.
Rhonex Kipruto is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Kipruto was the world record holder for the 10 km road race with a time of 26:24, set on 12 January 2020 in Valencia Spain, until he was stripped of that title in June 2024. He also places third on the half marathon world all-time list.
Taylor Ewert is an American long-distance runner and college track and field athlete for the University of Arkansas and Michigan State University. In high school, she set numerous records and was the cross country OHSAA Division I individual state champion in 2019, representing Beavercreek High School. Ewert committed to the University of Arkansas later that year, and in 2020, she was named the Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Weini Kelati Frezghi is an American middle and long distance runner. Born in Eritrea, she claimed asylum in the United States in July 2014 and subsequently achieved multiple victories in state and national level competitions while attending Heritage High School in Leesburg, Virginia. While competing for the University of New Mexico, Kelati won the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
Nicolas Young is an American long-distance runner. He is a two-time NCAA champion having won both the 3000 m and 5000 m at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships while competing for Northern Arizona University. He also holds the collegiate records in the 5000 m (12:57.14) and 10,000 m (26:52.72), both set in 2024. He came out as gay in 2022.
Ky Robinson is an Australian long-distance runner. Competing for Stanford, he won the 5000 and 10,000 m at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2022, he represented his home country at the World Championships in Eugene and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In December 2023, he set an Australian indoor 5000 m record in a time of 13:06.42.
Nick Griggs is an Irish middle and long-distance runner from County Tyrone.
Colin Sahlman is an American middle- and long-distance runner.
Mike Smith is an American coach who has been the director of cross country and track and field at Northern Arizona University since 2017. As the head coach of the men's and women's programs, he has led the men's teams to five NCAA Division I men's cross country championships titles.
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