How does a person run eight kilometers in less than half an hour?

How can a person get into and stay in the kind of shape that lets them run more than 10 miles in a day, two or three times a week?

Some of SF State’s finest cross country runners share just what it’s like to be a runner at their level.

“There’s different focuses every day of the week,” said junior Kyle Fujitsubo, a returning runner on the men’s team.

“There [are] long days, there [are] easy days, and there [are] hilly runs,” Fujitsubo said.

The teams usually alternate their more difficult days with shorter runs to allow for recovery and deter injuries at practice.

“We usually run six days a week,” said Tanya Ferreira, 20, of the women’s team.

We have the option to take a day off and it’s usually Sundays. We’ll run three hard days a week and then we do a recovery run to let our bodies heal up and get ready for the next hard workout.”

Sophomore Vanesa Zuzárregui, a hospitality management major, explained the purpose of the teams’ training plan.

“The hard workouts are meant to help you prepare for races and the easier ones are kind of a break. You don’t want to be pounding every day of the week and then when you get to race day you’re all worn out.”

However, a “short run” for a cross country athlete can be as long as seven miles while the longer exercises can be from 10 to 12 miles, according to senior Vera Ross of the women’s team.

But those are just the scheduled practices.

These runners keep their training up, even off the courses.

“Core work. Sit ups, push ups, crunches,” returning sophomore Andrew “Peanut” Lavallee responded when asked what extra conditioning he does on his own.

Every runner interviewed for this article responded with the same answer as Lavallee.

Ross said, “Some of us get together after practice and do core work. Overall, core strength is really good for running because it helps your form and it helps your posture while you’re running and it just makes you a better runner.”

Another extra workout, mentioned by Ferreira, was striders.

“I do striders on my own,” Ferreira said.

“I usually do them on the soccer field. They’re not sprints, but a quicker run where you work on your form,” she continued.

Fujitsubo also mentioned that some runners do something called “doubling,” in which they run again for a few miles in the evening.

Fujitsubo does not currently “double” himself because he is prone to injury, but does run extra distance before each race and plans on lowering this as the team nears conference competition.

With a sport that can burn about 1000 calories a practice, it’s what a cross country runner eats and drinks that can be of vital importance, according to Samuel Cuadra.

“The dining center with friends sometimes, and they’ll have a plate of food and I’ll have about three,” Cuadra said with a laugh.

“And I try to replace most of my drinks with water.”

Runners eat a lot, contrary to popular beliefs, said Zuzárregui.

“We may be skinny, but we’re burning a lot of calories all day long,” said Zuzárregui.

A favorite food mentioned by many of the runners is pasta.

“We do pasta parties sometimes for the carbs,” Zuzárregui said. The team will meet at one of the captain’s homes where they feast on pasta the night before a big run.

Carbohydrates are one of the most efficient compounds our bodies can use to create glucose, or blood sugar, which the body uses as readily available energy.

“I think it does [help] because it seems like it lasts longer then other foods,” Ferreira said. “It seems that it has better energy levels than other food.”

But not all of the members of these teams change what they eat.

“I don’t adjust my diet to running,” said 19-year-old Mark DePasquale.

“Some people do, but I always figured if you adjust your diet right before a race your body won’t like it.”

Cuadra said she likes to eat whole foods and try to get in at least one fruit or vegetable with every meal.

“I try to replace most of my drinks with water,” said Cuadro.

Another equally important factor is staying hydrated.

Fujitsubo said he drinks about one bottle of water each hour.

“I’d say, [I] probably [have] at least two liters at the most,” said Lavallee.

Yet one more important aspect of the sport of cross country is one’s mindset.

“We talk about the race and devise strategies and whatnot,” said Max Fernandez. “Mostly just think about what you’re going to do out there and think of the whole race in your head before you get out there so you’re prepared for what’s going to happen.”

The majority of the other runners said they simply sit or lie down and think about the run intensely.

“The night before, I visualize. Just lay down and go over the race in my head,” senior Ross said.

Runner DePasquale mentioned an interesting routine he has on race day — he watches a YouTube video.

This video is a news clip of a report on the life and struggle of a young man named Ben Comen, who is a high school cross country runner that struggles with cerebral palsy.

DePasquale said he finds inspiration from the story of a runner who is put through so much pain to compete, yet still does for the love of the sport.

This video can be found by simply searching the name “Ben Comen” on YouTube.

This is a glimpse into the life of a cross country runner. There are the expected practices and the not-so-expected stories of inspiration.

But every moment is devoted to their sport because it’s their passion.