Can cross country make a sprinter slower?

Question

i am a girl and is going to do cross country and i am worried i will loose my speed. i run 26.4 200, 58.28 400 and long jump 17.4 and i am going to be a sophmore next year. so will cross country help or be bad for me? and are my times good?

Answer 1

Wow those are some really good stats. Cross country is beneficial to any kind of runner. The great thing about XC is it builds a really great base for track. There is enough time in between XC and track for it to really not affect your fast twitch muscles So if I were you I would join cross country to get a good base for your 400 and than around the beginning of January start really pushing your speedworkouts to help your 200. Good luck.

Answer 2

no no no no no..cross country will help you extremely for this. The fastest 400m runners on my track team are all distance runners. the girls who run xc one girl on my team got 58 seconds too. the guys get in the low 50s. there are many speed workouts that you do to increase speed in cross country...on top of that you also gain endurance for that 400. most sprinters have little endurance.. but you will have a better heart rate making you perform at your best..cross country made me an ammazing sprinter but i do the distance stuff.its what i like..you dont even need to be good at cross country, it will still deliver alot of endurance and speed to you....besides the fastest girl on my whole cross country team runs 400 is 58.00

Answer 3

um your times are amazing!! especially that 400! the winner of the CT state open 2008 got a low 57, so you would've placed and gone to regionals! so yes definitely good times. and as far as XC goes, the muscle will make for good stamina, and if you take a good long break in between seasons, it shouldn't slow your times at all

Answer 4

yes, sprinters use fast twitch muscle fibers and a lot of cross country running could build slow twich muscle fibers which would lower the percentage of fast twich muscle fibers

Answer 5

Cross country should help. You will build endurance and be in better shape for the track season. Once your season rolls around, your body will be starting ahead of the game and ready to build speed.

Answer 6

yeah I was wondering the same thing

except i do the 100 and 200. my coach wants me to do cross country. but I still think that cross country will not do anything for me