Alexander Lee
Staff Writer

What is a sport? The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary says “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature”. Despite this definition, most people still assert that cross-country running is not a “real sport”. They proclaim that it is “wimpy” and that only sports like football and baseball are “real” while sports like cross-country are not. However, not only is cross-country running indeed a real sport, but it is also undoubtedly one of the most genuine sports.

When I asked ten students to describe cross-country, the majority of them said the same thing: “it’s not a sport”. They argued that while running may be “an aspect of most sports”, it is not enough to be considered “its own sport”. They proceeded to add that it is “single-tasking” and in any other sport considered “a form of punishment”. They offer legitimate points; it is true that running is a part of the majority of sports and that in sports, such as tennis, athletes dread the mere mention of suicides. The sheer idea of running laps induces The Great Fear.

However, these points are irrelevant, for their perception of the definition of sport does not capture the essence of its true definition. The word “sports” is a slang term for “athletics”; the Westford Academy web site and handbook assent. Therefore, we must not question whether cross-country running is a “sport”, but rather we must ask if it is an “athletic”.

Athletics comes from the Greek word athlete: one who participates in a contest. A contest always renders a guaranteed prize: glory. Thus, an athlete participates in a contest for glory. In other words, an athlete is a person who competes to win; hence, athletics are competitions in which a competitor’s sole desire is victory.

Cross-country running not only exemplifies this definition in its entirety, but it also captures its genuine meaning more completely than most other sports. This is because the only motivation for a cross-country runner is to win.

Most athletes enjoy the process of playing their sports; cross-country runners are not among them. During a cross-country race, every runner is tired, fatigued, and often injured. The whole race is a test of stamina and will-power; those who are willing to endure the most hardship in order to win will win. Unlike sports like baseball or basketball, the whole sport is based on one’s ability to endure pain. The captains of the team state that “at the end of the race you should feel so tired that you couldn’t imagine that putting more effort in would be possible”.

There is only one reason why anybody would subject themselves to such hardships in a sport: victory, which is exactly the motivation for the hardships listed above. This illuminates the essence of the Greek term athlete.

Furthermore, few other athletics capture the meaning of the Greek word athlete to the extent that cross-country does. Sports like football, basketball, and baseball are entertaining to play; hence they are not as focused on victory as cross-country.

Cross-country running, therefore, indubitably is one of the many sports, but also unquestionably one of the most bona fide sport in its genuine sense.