Third season coaching the girls and boys cross country for Hernando High, Travis Bruns’ goal to start the season is seeking to recruit at least 20 runners into the program. “It’s the hardest sport on campus. Some of them never ran before. They don’t know what they are getting into,” said Bruns.
Student-athletes that join the program have to have the strength and agility to pace themself while running on different and, most often, uneven terrain. And most importantly, to be mentally prepared and train their bodies to be able to steady the elevation of their heart rate and breathing. “If they aren’t strong mentally before they start running, they will be in three months,” said Bruns.
Cross country has a broad range of challenges, and even those challenges are when the runners place personal goals upon themselves. “It’s a team sport but also individual. They can push themselves, but they (know they) have the camaraderie of the team,” said Bruns. “It’s a really good group of kids, and it’s fun for me to see them grow as an athlete.”
The Leopard’s Cross Country team’s first invitational takes place in Citrus on Saturday, August 28. Bruns’s leaders for the Cross Country 2021 season for the boys; Jesse Foulks, Logan Sway, and Anton Grooms, and on the girl’s side, Remi Lay.
