Junior 800-meter runner Charlene Lipsey lined up for a 30-minute run after LSU cross country coach Mark Elliott informed her she would be working out with the cross country team that day.
Lipsey and six other 800-meter runners practice with the cross country team during the fall to prepare for track in the spring.
“Cross country helps me in the aspect of getting mentally strong because the 800 is more mental than anything,” Lipsey said. “I think cross country gives me that mindset for the 800 that no matter how tired you are, you’ve got to keep base.”
The middle distance runners get more long-distance training with the cross country team to build a good base and add speed work during track season.
“It’s helping them gain the kind of strength they need to sustain a long indoor and outdoor competitive season of racing,” Shaver said.
Elliott mixes the middle distance runners in during cross country workouts, but usually decreases the number of repetitions during an interval workout, which is running a certain distance multiple times with breaks in between, or the total distance during a longer run. Elliott said middle distance and cross country runners assist each other by running workouts together.
“The middle distance runners help the cross country runners with the pace,” Elliott said. “If you have three times a mile to do, chances are you can run them at a faster pace than someone who does eight of