Although not a hard-hitting contact sport, cross country runners get injured just as frequently as other athletes.

According to Chris Hardie, the Waynesburg University women’s cross country team may very well have more injuries this season than it ever has had in program history.

Having a roster of 27 active athletes will do that to a program, as overuse injuries are typically the most frequent injury that sidelines a cross country runner.

On this team Hardie said the coaching staff are certain to bring runners back to full health before even contemplating about racing them.

“A program philosophy [of ours] is that we probably tend to keep a runner out a little bit longer than most distance programs,” said Hardie. “Because of the depth that we have, we know that we can be really conservative, so we tend to give a day or two more off on the back end of an injury knowing that we can build them back up slowly, but every runner is a little different.”

Kathryn Thompson, a sophomore on the team, is one of the athletes who has had a slow start to the 2017 cross country season due to her health. After making postseason for spring track last year and competing for the extra two weeks, Thompson took four weeks off from running before returning to the pavement.

After just a few weeks of summer training, even going past a jog would cause a burning sensation up her shins. She attempted to run through it for a week before being diagnosed with the possibility of shin splints or a stress fracture. The routine of ice, compression and rest alleviated some pain until she was told that it might be a muscular issue instead.

Thompson has just recently been able to start running and cross train again to get back into shape. However, her coaches have agreed that health is the largest issue. Rushing her back to race before her body is ready would only hurt herself and the team.

Despite the positive and uplifting atmosphere, Thompson’s desire to be out on the course with her team is still unbearable.

“Mentally, it’s been very, very hard,” said Thompson. “Both coaches know, Malarie [Yoder], my roommate, knows the struggles that I’ve been through…it’s hard whenever you want to run so bad for your team, it’s not even about myself anymore, I just want to be here for my team, but I can’t.”

However, both the coaches and Thompson’s teammates have helped calm her down and ease her potential fears.

“Being here, getting to talk to everyone,” said Thompson. “With everyone being so uplifting and reassuring…they don’t want me hurting myself by just wanting to run. They want me healthy.”

Megan Studebaker, a freshman cross country runner, was coming off a stress fracture from her left leg during the summer, and the high mileage in the summer aggravated the injury again.

Having dealt with injuries before in her athletic career, Studebaker already appreciates the way Waynesburg handles the issue.

“It feels a lot more accommodating than it did in high school when I was dealing with injuries,” said Studebaker. “The coaches still have me come to practice every single day even if I’m not doing the workouts and I still feel like a huge part of the team.”

Although Studebaker would love to be out on the course as well, she still understands and sees the nature of the team.

“It’s hard mentally with my season,” said Studebaker. “But it’s really encouraging watching everyone else.”

All the athletes on the team are treated with care to their injuries to ensure they can come back healthier than when they left. However, another important aspect is that their four years aren’t the only time they may be running in their lifetime.

“We’re conservative, it’s how we’ve always been, we don’t ever want to run somebody in to the ground,” said Hardie. “The key for us is there is a career after college, and I would feel horrible if I ran an athlete into an injury that set them back their entire career.”