Connecting to the Past While Moving Forward
Cross country teams continue to evolve
Liv Sewell
The difference between a program and a team is culture.
People come and go, rosters change, and slogans evolve, but one thing strives to stay the same – the connection between a team’s past and its future.
Colorado State cross country faces a unique battle this season in terms of newness. With 11 true freshmen and five transfers on the roster, there is a climb to ascend. But there is also anticipation for what could come.
“I’m excited to see where we go,” junior Kensey May said. “We’re going harder and faster in workouts. I think traveling and having so many new people can be kind of scary but seeing these girls and getting to know them throughout these few days, I know they can adapt well and do great things.”
Just running in Colorado itself poses a hurdle, especially for those unaccustomed to altitude. Going from sea level to elevation affects recovery, oxygen intake and a host of other pieces of the multi-faceted puzzle. And part of navigating that challenge is leaning on those who have been there before – runners like May and Chris Henry, who have both been at CSU for three seasons.
The connection between experience and adjustment is exactly what head coach Kelly Hart is counting on clicking into place. Entering her fourth season, Hart knows the little things – sleep, recovery, nutrition – are just as important as mileage. For a roster this new, culture matters as much as performance.
“We definitely stress the lifestyle and recovery piece a lot,” Hart said. “Part of being a college athlete is not just coming to practice and hitting the splits but how you manage your lifestyle. Your nutrition, recovery, sleep is really going to be what determines how much you get out of the workouts and how successful you’ll be. So, the upperclassmen take the underclassmen under their wing of how to recover well and encourage healthy habits as soon as they get here.”
Mentorship trickles into the smallest parts of the week. Both May and Henry emphasize the team comes first. The process is as much about camaraderie as it is about training plans.
It means meeting up outside of practice for a cup of coffee but also finding encouragement in the trenches of a tough race.
“I think spending as much time as we can together is something we prioritize,” Henry said. “Outside running, we like to hang out and have fun. I feel like, in my experience, the closer you are with your teammates the easier it is to succeed in the sport. Emphasizing working hard and being consistent are some of our biggest focuses.”
It’s a group that really cares for each other, wants to be really successful but wants to be successful because they care about the team.Kelly Hart
Though teamwork and synergy can’t be quantified, a list of expectations helps lay the foundation.
Nine points are shared with the team before the season begins, most of them focused on cultivating a team-first spirit over individual times or titles. For Hart, the culture she built in Fort Collins is what will carry this year’s squad forward.
“When we meet with the team, we give them a sheet of nine things we really expect,” Hart said. “The first three are team focused. So, a team-first mindset in racing and a team-first mindset in your lifestyle. I’ve obviously seen that from this group. It’s a group that really cares for each other, wants to be really successful but wants to be successful because they care about the team. That’s what really pushes them through the last two kilometers of the race.”
Those expectations aren’t just words on paper. They’re lived out day to day in workouts and classrooms, in meals and recovery sessions. The message is clear: culture is not optional; it’s the heartbeat of the program. Each runner, whether a seasoned upperclassman or brand-new to CSU, contributes to the rhythm of the team.
The team’s mottos – “trust the process” and “you have to earn it” – ground them through both training and competition.
This philosophy also shifts responsibility. Instead of waiting for veterans to carry the load, Hart challenges every athlete to view themselves as a leader. Leadership, she insists, isn’t defined by age or accolades, but by actions that strengthen the bond of the group. It’s another layer of “earning it,” not just through mileage, but through the everyday choices which shape the Rams’ identity.
“In some ways, no one is exempt from affecting the team culture,” Hart said. “For some people it’s going to be jumping up and down in the huddle and being all ‘rah rah.’ For some people, it’s going to be pulling another athlete aside and getting coffee with them. I always tell the freshmen; we want you to be leaders. Find ways to step up and help the team and don’t wait until you’re an upperclassman. Leadership isn’t about being in charge, it’s about helping the team and guiding toward our goals.”
It’s a vision of mentorship which resonates most in the hard moments. Every runner knows championships aren’t won on easy days – they’re built through long runs in the cold, grueling interval sessions and the races which don’t go to plan. Those shared struggles are where the bond between teammates is tested and strengthened.
For veterans like May and Henry, the beauty of cross country is no one suffers alone. Bad races or tough workouts may sting in the moment, but they become the memories which tie a roster together. In the end, culture isn’t measured by medals, but by the way athletes lean on each other when everything hurts.
Colorado State will begin to put the culture to the test Aug. 30 at the Wyoming Invite, the first chance for the young roster to run together against outside competition. It won’t define the season, but it will serve as a checkpoint – a starting line not just for races, but for a new generation of Rams.
For Hart, May, Henry and the rest of the team, the expectations remain the same as they’ve always been -- lean on one another, trust the process and understand that nothing in the sport is given.
The climb is steep, but the journey is where the culture is forged – and every step of it has to be earned.
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