Many view rainy days as the perfect days to lie in bed and do nothing. Those are the days when people choose not to be outside. However, over the course of their season, the boys cross country team would be outside running, regardless of if it was rain or shine. They would run outside when it was cold or warm, cloudy or sunny, dark or light. So the question is, why run in the bad weather?

According to senior Zachary Wyderko, who was a part of Brighton High School’s cross country team for four years, rain is certainly not ideal running weather.

“I think weather that’s not too warm and ideally not raining or snowing very hard, probably,” Wyderko said in reference to his preferred running conditions.

However, this has not been the case for many of the meets. Some of them have been very hot, with temperatures rising into the high 80s, and others have been colder, dipping down into the low 50s. Many of the meets have also been cloudy or rainy and not very sunny. However, this never stopped any of the runners from running in their races. 

The weather factors are a part of the cross country sport, and many members of the team competed not just in spite of the challenges but because they were willing to embrace them. The runners didn’t let the weather or the challenging nature of the sport stop them; instead, the sometimes tough conditions allowed the team to bond and become stronger over the course of the season.

“I’ve only ever done track, lacrosse and cross country, but I still can say that this is one of the best communities in the school,” senior Liam Plank said.

Many people would look at the sport of cross country and say it’s too hard or isn’t fun. For the runners on the team, though, much of the fun comes from pushing themselves to new extremes and forging strong bonds with those who brave the challenges alongside them.

“I think [cross country is] one of the greatest experiences of my high school career, and I hope to keep doing it long into my life,” Wyderko said.