Members of the Free State High cross country team head east down Ninth Street toward downtown during an early-morning run June 16, 2015.

Free State High cross country coach Steve Heffernan wasn’t expecting many athletes to show up at the beginning of summer conditioning in the past few weeks.

Some runners need time to recover after track season. Others go on vacation or head off to summer camps.

But Heffernan has been surprised at the turnout from the Firebirds. They’ve averaged around 30 runners at 7 a.m. each day outside the Hillcrest Shopping Center, including more than 40 on a couple of days. Most of the athletes who ran for the track team returned to conditioning this week.

“It’s nice to have everybody back, because with summer, things kind of ebb and flow,” Heffernan said. “So all you’re trying to do is keep a decent number of kids here, so it feels like it’s meaningful, and right now we’ve got that going.”

The girls cross country team finished second at the Class 6A state meet last season and returns four of its top five runners. The biggest change for the girls’ team will be the length of the race.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association announced Monday that girls cross country races will be increased from a 4K to 5K in postseason competition this season, an increase of 0.62 miles. The change was brought up last October after a letter from the U.S. Office of Civil Rights notified KSHSAA of a complaint it received.

“I don’t think I’ve ever raced a 5K, so it’ll be interesting,” senior Grace Bradshaw said. “It’s kind of scary to actually think about.”

Heffernan added: “To be honest, girls are probably a little bit more prepared to run a 5K when they’re a freshman or sophomore in high school than a typical boy is. I don’t think it’ll have a big impact. I think it’ll simply be a transition to going a little bit further.”

It’s expected most regular-season cross country meets will change to a 5K distance, but coaches have discussed keeping non-varsity races at the 4K distance for the first few weeks.

The Firebirds ran a 5K at Kansas University’s Rim Rock Classic last season and at a meet in Omaha, Nebraska. Junior-to-be Emily Venters won the Rim Rock Classic in 18:44.9, and senior-to-be Claire Sanner took fourth. Senior Liv Lyche and junior Kiran Cordes, who took sixth at state, also return plenty of varsity experience.

Free State’s boys cross country team graduated a talented group, but will be led by seniors Ethan Donley and Tanner Hockenbury. The Firebirds also hope to get a big contribution from sophomore Avant Edwards, who had a strong track season, among a few others.

“I have a lot of confidence,” Hockenbury said. “I’m going to try to do some speed training this summer, try to do a lot more to get my endurance up. I’ve been doing a lot more light lifting to try to get me in shape for cross so I can power through those hills and everything. I’m pretty confident this is going to be a good season.”

With the high number of Firebirds at summer conditioning, they hope it will carry over to the fall season.

“Summer helps a ton,” junior Calvin Yost-Wolff said. “Otherwise you’re just tired throughout the whole season. With summer, you actually get to build up your legs a little and get prepared for the season and not be dead.”