History

Many of you will be thinking how much history can cross country running have? Well a lot. the first type of cross country called "Hare and Hounds" or " the paper chase" started in England. One team would go out over the land not following any trail and leave pieces of paper. Then another team would go and try to follow the paper trail.

The first formal competition was the Crick Run, first held at Rugby School in 1837. Many other public schools soon established similar events, followed by Oxford and Cambridge Universities. For more formal events the racers followed a trail but for most part they still ran following paper.

In 1887, the National Cross-Country Association was founded, and the association held its first championship event. The Amateur Athletic Association began conducting the national championship in 1880. Also in 1880 Harvard started cross country in the fall as a track and field training.

The annual NCAA cross-country championship grew out of a meet inaugurated by the Central Intercollegiate Conference in 1926. During the 1930s, so many schools began entering teams that the NCAA took it over as a national championship event in 1938.

There are no world records of cross country because the trails vary in difficulty and distance. Also no really rules. Except in international competitions there is a minimum on distance 12,000 meters (about 7.5 miles) for men and 2,000 to 5,000 meters (about 1.25 to 3 miles) for women.