It’s All About the Distance: Cross Country Rules Explained

So the one question I get asked about the most in cross country is “how is it scored?”

I wish it was as easy as basketball where one shot under the big arc counts as two and outside the big arc is three, but as I have heard one particular coach say, “A bunch of cross country coaches got together and asked ‘what is the most difficult way we can have these runners score?’”

Well here it is, and let’s see if you can keep up…

How the runners place as they cross the finish line is the number of points scored, so if the runner comes across in first place, they have a score of 1, if they cross the line in second they have 2 points, third place earns 3 points, and so on.

Pretty easy at this point… but just you wait.

In a varsity race, the team consists of seven of your top runners. Now you would think if the all cross the finish line, they all count toward the total score, well, actually, that is not the case, only the first five of the top seven count.

“Wait? What?!” Is what you are all thinking at this point, I imagine. I told you I would explain, I never said it would make sense.

So if your top five runners have crossed at this point, say first, second, third, fourth, and fifth, they have a score of 15 (1+2+3+4+5=15). This is the lowest score you can receive, but then you also have the sixth and seventh runner, their scores do not count; however, they still have an effect on the outcome of the race. Say the eighth place runner is from the opposing team, the first number they can score is 8 and nothing lower.

But don’t you want the most points, like every other sport?
Actually, this sport is scored kind of like golf in that respect, the lowest score wins the race.

So to summarize, try and get across the line first, only the first five count, get the lowest score, and have your 6th and 7th runner displace the other teams runners. It’s that simple!