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Alright, well the other posts have said a lot, so i'm going to try not to repeat anything. It's important to note that Cross Country will NOT make you faster. I assume you are talking about 800m (meter) dash, In Canada we have different names for it (metric system). The way that usually works is 4 times around a 200m track. So it's usually sprint/run for the first and last lap, fast jog/run for the middle two. Jr. Cross country is something like 2.5km (2500m). So obviously, a LOT longer. Basically jogging at a solid pace throughout the whole thing, with maybe a very short sprint at the beginning and end of the race.

So, what cross country does is it trains your LONG-DISTANCE, endurance/cardio skills. Where as track usually requires either short-distance or long distance and sometimes both.

So, if you find it hard to complete the 800m, as in you're running out of breath all the time, than cross country would help in leaps and bounds. However, if you have no problem finishing the 800m, but find yourself a bit slow, then you should be training explosiveness, quickness, speed, agility (SHORT DISTANCE), so you can pass everyone.

It's important to train what will help you, Any kind of running is obviously going to help more, and I would highly recommend cross country to anyone who wants to challenge themselves, its lot's of fun as well.

P.S. I apologize as well, because im from Canada, I don't know what the 's' in 800s stands for. It could be a lot shorter or longer than 800m, the info is still useful though I think

Cheers :)

I'm going to go against the other answers and say that cross country will likely help you get faster. If you're currently in such shape that you're usually one of the last to finish, then any running workouts are likely to help you continue improving - beginners improve more than experienced athletes. There will be some speed workouts during cross country, those will certainly help you get a bit faster. And cross country practices will force you to spend 3 months late summer/early fall training daily, something that is much harder to motivate yourself to do when you're not on a team.

Don't worry about your stomach, just train. As you get more fit, your body will adjust. Google for a summer cross country training schedule. At the end of track season, take a week completely off from running, then take 1 week of very little, light running. Then start the summer training schedule, and stick with it.

Work hard in cross country this fall, then take a couple weeks to recharge, and find a winter track training schedule online (you can find almost ANYTHING with Google). Again, stick to the schedule, and head into spring track next year in much better shape.

i'm in 9th grade so halla 2 ya freshie! lemme tell it staight, highschool track is gonna be way harder than that thing you call track in middle school. Over the summer, you'll need to work really hard, and THAT even won't be enough.What i did was i'd do strength training on saturdays (hills, elavation, montains stuff like that )for three hours, then sundays i'd do enduarence, which is like running for a long distance and pacing yourself so you don't die off quicky, i did 10 miles. The rest of the week i'd just do some workouts and go to the gym, do yoga, and arobics (YOUTUBE!!) but since u r a beginner i'd start of with maybe a mile elevation strength training. then maybe 3 miless enduarance. then i'd just add on when i'm ready or not ready. write a scedule for yourself so you don't slack off and record how much you've been doing. Mu school also offered a summer prep thing for track so see if they have that and go for it. if you can't go tothe gym, do this every day:

25 crunches

25 leg extensions

20 alternating leg extensions

20 cross crunches (per leg)

25 crunches

20 throwing bows

15 toe reaches

20 side bends (pre side)

the end with crunches until failure. The point of this is to strengthen your abdominal muscles trim your belly fats. do all those without stopping in between for breaks, and i garantee after a week you'll see a change. I did this for 2 months and i have a six pack now so i know it works. So good luck!! and have a good freshman year, make some memories, and above all have fun and enjooy everything you do. if you ever wnna chat or anything, visit my website and leave me a message on my guestbook, i'll be happy to answer any highschool questions and concerns

http://ginkheart.webs.com/

I am sorry to disappoint you however no good monitor or XC runner train on the treadmill. Surely, I don't know a single runner that sincerely educate on the treadmill. Treadmills have a pace restrict so if you want to get rapid, there isn't any technique to expand the pace to a point where you're genuinely figuring out. The benefits of running in the North is the cold. Cold air helps runner develop their respiratory strength considering there is less air in cold air because of the humidity. That is why quite a few just right runners come from the North. Just make sure to wear warm garb and not work yourself too hard in the cold until you broaden your endurance and might manipulate more difficult workouts. Additionally, the average time for HS monitor mile is round 4:50-5:30.