It’s week two of official cross-country practice at Greene County High School. Coach Jeff Lamoureux ended last week with 12 girls and six boys out for the sport. Although those are not big numbers, they are up slightly from a week ago.

Iowa high school girls and boys all run five kilometers (3.1 miles), and doubts can certainly creep into a runner’s mind during the course of the race. The coach is a road race runner himself and talks about the mental aspect. “Several times when I’ve been in a race in about mile one I ask myself what I’m doing there, or why did I sign up for this? Those things go through your mind. Cross-country or long distance running are as much mental as they are physical. It’s overcoming that thought of slowing down or even walking, and to keep going and keep pushing. Having that perseverance to press on is a good life lesson, too. There are times in life where it’s kind of tough and you have to press on.”

Greene County opens the high school cross-country seaso