New Challenges for Student-Athletes in Cross Country and Track and Field
Image Courtesy of Catholic Athletics
By Paul Gillet
On-campus sports are back to practice after a long waiting period since the start of the semester, which means that Catholic University’s student-athletes can finally get back to what they love and regain some sense of normalcy – though perhaps not very much.
The cross country and track teams are facing these challenges along with every other team at the moment. The Landmark Conference has canceled all competitions, which means that team members are practicing without short-term opportunities to test their skills on the playing field. For some, that alone might be enough to make practicing seem worthless. After all, why practice if the earliest possible date to compete – and then only tentatively – is not until the spring? However, it does seem that many student-athletes are returning to practices, perhaps because of their love for the sport itself, a need to stay in shape, or some other reason. However, even those practices are severely hampered by restrictions from the athletic department and the D.C. government.
Athletes returning to practice do not make up all of Catholic University’s body of student-athletes. A very large number of upperclassmen are staying home, while some athletes are in D.C., but not yet practicing because they compete in a winter or spring sport.
“Practicing alone is tough, but we’ve been able to keep in contact with our teammates who are home too,” said sophomore cross country runner John O’Rourke. “That’s made it easier for me to motivate myself to stay fit.”
O’Rourke is currently in Rhode Island, his home state, where he is working to stay in shape through workouts sent by coaches and encouragement from fellow teammates.
Others are feeling the absence of their teammates more strongly.
“It’s tough. The team experience has been a big support for me these last three years, so having that be so restricted has been [really] difficult,” said senior politics major Max Dreitlein. “I miss my teammates and the ability to push and support them.”
Dreitlein is on the track team and is one of the runners unable to practice, even though track usually begins practices for their winter season around this time.
One major challenge student-athletes are facing is working out in a mask. The cross country team requires its athletes to wear a mask during workouts, and the mask requirement is proving to be particularly daunting – and discouraging. According to the athletes, it is extremely difficult to breathe through a mask while running, and many runners on the team are very disappointed with the way they are performing during workouts. Athletes also report that wearing a mask while running does not seem to make a lot of sense at first glance; even during the lockdowns, few if any local governments imposed such restrictions. Furthermore, the lack of oxygen flow while running could introduce health problems of their own.
Not everyone is totally pessimistic. Paige Wilderotter, a junior nursing major, has more of a positive outlook on such requirements.
“Wearing a mask while running is definitely a huge adjustment for all of us,” Wilderotter said. “It is going to take some time to get used to especially for our longer runs and workouts, but I think in the end it’ll hopefully make us better for when we no longer have to wear a mask while running.”
While those student-athletes who have returned to D.C. are for the most part grateful for the opportunity to get back to their routines, the coronavirus has made things very different and much more difficult than in the past. It is another unfortunate chapter in the challenges that have beset the university community, and all of us are eagerly looking forward to being able to compete again, hopefully in the spring.
