photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Francis Alexander, front left, leads a pride of Lions during a cross-country run the morning after the team's trip to Colorado at Veteran's Park on Friday, June 12, 2024.

Lawrence High School’s cross-country team took a 10-hour bus ride and gained around 9,000 feet in elevation for a change of pace in its summer training. For the second straight year, the team traveled to Bellevue, Colorado, and the Colorado State University Mountain Campus. There, the Lions spent four days running, hiking and building a strong team dynamic.

The experience was important both physically and for the team’s relationships. The senior captains got the chance to get to know their younger teammates on a personal level. With a sport like cross-country that is mainly isolated, having solid team relationships helps younger runners maintain that discipline.

“We had to really take care of each other,” senior Kylee Chee said. “Some of these people I really haven’t had a chance to interact with. I learned a lot about my teammates, and I think that’s important to have that connection.”

Setting goals, jumping into 30-degree water and quiet moments in the wilderness were the highlights of the trip’s non-workout times.

Offseason training in cross-country can sometimes become monotonous. Athletes run miles and miles, often on the same or similar routes. That’s why the Colorado trip for the team was a reprieve — it was a chance to run in a completely new environment.

“We definitely used it as a retreat,” Leigham Alexander said. “We’re all here, so we all love the miles, but everyone needs a break once in a while. In that time, we did some goal-setting too, so we really honed in on the season to see what we need to do as a team and individually.”

The Lions had six-mile runs in the mornings and would sometimes do later ones as well. In addition, the team went on multiple six-hour hikes. Those hikes, along with the mountain views they provided, were a tough physical challenge. An extra 3,000 feet in elevation made the already difficult hike strenuous. But with that, the team got mentally tougher.

Altitude changes aside, the views of those hikes and runs were some of the most memorable moments for Alexander. The Rocky Mountains proved to be a dramatic change of scenery from the team’s usual runs in Kansas. Alexander made sure the rest of the team took advantage of the vast expanse of front-range view, even though a few kids jumped to their phones the minute someone found the smallest amount of cell service on one of the hikes.

Fellow senior captain Freya Girard said the payoff for the hikes was the best part. One hike ended at the site of an old plane crash, and the other finished at a small lake where the team swam and enjoyed the waters.

Around 15 runners didn’t sleep the day after returning home. Instead, those Lions met at Veterans Park at 7 a.m. for an early morning run. It was a testament to the team’s excitement for the season and to qualify for the state tournament as a team. The Lions started their summer running on June 3 and still have the rest of July and August before the regular season begins.

“I’m confident,” Girard said. “I think I’ll be satisfied when the season ends.”