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While humans have run over grass and dirt trails since the dawn of time, cross country running didn’t begin as a competitive sport until the early 1800s. For Eastside Runners, thanks to the vision and guidance of Coach John Sweeney, cross country (or XC) became part of the club’s offerings in 2006 and continues to see a growing number of runners - all ages and abilities - compete for the team.
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If you have never competed in a XC event, there is a significant difference between XC running and road or track running – namely, the variability of both weather and footing conditions. Map out a winding trail of grass, dirt, gravel, hills, a little bit of pavement, and you’ll get a XC course. Then, add rain, wind, or even snow and the real fun begins.
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Don’t be intimidated – every runner, every ability, is welcome to run on the Eastside Runners XC team. A few races are more competitive, with minimum entry guidelines, but we’ll tell you about those races so you don’t end up at any meets you don’t feel ready for.
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XC races usually are much smaller that the typical road race – often drawing just 50-100 runners of varying abilities. But with Eastside Runners XC you are part of a team, with the finishing places of the top 5 people being summed up and the lowest score wins. Race distances are 5K-6K for women and 5K-10K for men. There are usually separate races for women and men. Races are divided into categories of Open Runners (under 39 years old) and Master Runners (40 years and up), with some meets also having age divisions (such as 40-49, 50-59, and 60+).
Joining the Eastside Runners XC team isn’t a big time commitment. Although running in all of the races would be great, you can run in only as many races as you want. There are no official team practices, but Eastside Runners does hold a Wednesday night track workout in Kirkland every week that could help sharpen your speed for racing. In addition, Eastside Runners hosts other weekly runs and we can help put you in touch with other runners of your ability. We even host our own meet – the ESR XC Invitational.
To join the XC team, all that’s required is that you are a current member of the Eastside Runners Running Club, a fee of only $12 per year (or $18 for the whole family), and a $50 payment to cover the race entrance fees for the season (10 races). We also have racing singlets and other team apparel available at a reduced cost through our partnership with Brooks Sports. Eastside Runners is truly a running club for EVERY type of runner and the Eastside Runners XC team follows that belief as well. So what are you waiting for, contact Erica Pitman at ESRXC@hotmail.com.
How to Join…
- Become an ESR club member
- Send a $50 check made payable to ESR to Eastside Runners XC, PO Box 2616, Redmond, WA 98073-2616
- Email Erica Pitman at ESRXC@hotmail.com and tell her what age group you are in
- Pick up some ESR racing gear
We look forward to seeing you come out for ESR XC!
Meet signup and race registration: We have a self-service system this season for signing up for which cross-country meets you want to run. Please go to the meet signup page and add your name at least a week prior to each race. Team captains will collect the names and register you for meets.
Elite Runners: If you have run any of the following times in the past 12 months, please contact Erica Pitman at ESRXC@hotmail.com regarding sponsorship opportunities:
Men – 15:45 5K, 26:05 8K, 33:05 10K, 1:13:35 1/2M, 2:34:45 M, 9:45 3200, 9:05 3K, 9:49 2 Mile
Women - 17:45 5K, 29:25 8K, 37:20 10K, 1:23:15 1/2M, 2:55:25 M, 10:12 3K ,10:57 3200, 11:01 2 mile
 
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