After a three-week duration between meets, the cross-country team is focused on racking up mileage and mentally preparing for their next competition at the University of Notre Dame on Sept. 30.

Coach Erin Howarth said this long stretch of time is good yet challenging for the team.

“I love it because it allows us to really get after our training (and) get a lot of intensity and mileage without the need to back off for a race,” Howarth said.

Howarth added that the weeks without competitions are opportunities to fix mistakes that occurred in the first meets of the season by training and working hard.

To prepare for the Notre Dame Invitational, the team has continually done repeated interval workouts where the runners vary their exercises from high to low intensities and exercises meant to increase running tempos. In addition, the senior runners have been running two-hour Sunday morning workouts.

Senior Greg Rogers said mental preparation has also helped the team get ready over the long break between meets.

“Staying mentally strong is just as important as staying physically strong, so we challenge ourselves during workouts,” Rogers said.

For Rogers, confidence is key for the upcoming meet. He said that although he is in the best shape of his life, it will not matter unless he believes in himself and stays focused during the race.

Senior Ruth Garippo said these three weeks tend to be rewarding for most runners. She and her teammates see themselves progressing, which leads to boosting confidence going into the October meets, she said.

Howarth said several runners are already eager to get back on the course to race. Garippo said she is one such athlete.

“For me personally, I’m extremely ready to put my spikes back on and get after it,” Garippo said. “This meet is the perfect time to truly see the progress you’ve made over these three weeks.”

Schools competing in the invitational will not be announced until Sept. 28, and Howarth said the race is split into the blue and gold divisions.

Last season, both the men and women competed in the gold division. The men placed third out of 18 teams in their five-mile race, and the women finished their five-kilometer competition eighth out of 19 teams.

Weather and course conditions will be a crucial factor at Notre Dame.

Howarth described the course as “flat and fast”, typically promoting for a quick race. However, if it rains, the course floods because it does not drain well, Howarth said.

Rogers said the most challenging part of the course, for him, is the first half-mile. This portion of the race becomes crowded quickly, said Rogers.

“It gets so crowded with people that I have to focus on just staying up and not getting trampled on,” Rogers said. “It reminds me of the stampede scene in The Lion King with all the wildebeest.”

Both Howarth and Rogers said the crowd starts to thin out as the runners push past the first mile of the race.

Garippo said the course is full of turns, and that is something runners should take note of.

“If you really focus on surging out of each turn, you can really help yourself out there time-wise and place-wise,” said Garippo.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or krcordes@eiu.edu