A long flat path lies ahead, and the hot, dry air flows around you, as you begin the Nike Cross Regionals (NXR). NXR is a cross country race hosted by Nike in the state of Arizona in November. Every year, for the past 10 years, the Grandview Cross Country team flies down to Arizona to run this race. 

“It’s easily one of the biggest races in the nation. You’re not gonna see another race like this because you have so many teams coming in, and a competition for at least our region is absolutely insane. It’s a race unlike any other,” Colin Meeks (12), a cross country/long distance track runner, said.

Athletes running this race are proud to stand here, and to run all different levels. Everyone is celebrated for taking part in it; whether it is with an award, or with family members, local people and fellow runners’ cheer. 

 “You see all the records get broken and everyone runs absolutely insane times,” Meeks said. “Even if you have a bad race, the experience of NXR is so fun,”

As the race day approaches, setting a high goal for themselves, the runners are looking to see some specific training plans from the coaches; a lot of pacing workouts such as running 400m at their goal race pace.

“Definitely a lot of aerobic and high mileage stuff just to get a good base,” Maria Hiatt (11), a cross country/long distance track runner, said. “I feel like we do a lot of speed, which helps a lot.”

Getting the feel of speed in the runners’ legs helps demonstrate on how they should be coming through the finish line; workouts including running at VO2 max pace, strides, and progression runs where you gradually increase your speed. Taking this agenda with them, the team will be looking forward to achieving their individual goals, such as setting new personal records. 

“At the end of the day, my goal is just to leave everything I have out on the course,” Meeks said. 

This will be the last high school cross country race for some, and at this stage not only do the runners have the desire to run faster than their personal records, but to leave a record for the school. 

“I want to run sub 19:00 or 18:30, which would put me on the leader board for top 20 of Grandview,” Emersen Hensler (11) said. 

At NXR you will see other runners coming to compete from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, bringing a spirit of competition with them; you will have an experience to run and meet with some record holding runners.

 “I like just the energy of it, just being surrounded by a lot of people that also like to run,” Hiatt said. 

Carrying the excitement with them, the competitors will be running on a golf course with little hills, having a great chance to break their records. 

“It’s a really fast race with a lot of competition. And it’s always just fun to compete against people from the entire region,” Brennan Hiland (12) said. “The course is a lot faster and it’s at sea level.”

During this season some of our varsity runners have dealt with injuries; calling this season rocky, the runners are excited to run this NXR race hoping to change that around. 

“Since we live in Colorado, we get less oxygen when we’re running, so going down to a lower elevation makes it a lot easier to run fast,” Hensler said. 

Runners use this to their advantage and can implement it into a game plan. Every competitor has their own way of running this race, whether it is going out fast, running it in negative splits, or changing into appropriate shoes such as spikes. 

“For the first mile, I’m just gonna try to stay in control of something I know I can do. Second mile, I’ll pick it up some, like at a race pace I know I can do. Maybe a little faster than that and just try to stick with people” Blake Taylor (12), a cross country/long distance track runner, said. 

“Then the third mile I’m gonna just give it my all, beat as many people as possible.”

While running their own race, Grandview runners of similar speeds use the wolf way of pack running; trying to keep pace, the following runners stick with the runners in front of them.  

“Just using the competitors around me to keep my adrenaline up and stay engaged in the race,” Hiland said. 

Finishing the race, runners, not only from Grandview but from across the district, are looking forward to the many traditions such as exchanging t-shirts with other schools, or getting a piece of the line flags for commemoration and a memory.

“After the race, the team culture, going to In-N-Out, and just the celebration of finishing the NXR race,” Taylor said. 


The team takes a break after a day full of tension and emotions while getting ready to head back home for the upcoming track season, setting brand new goals and challenging new things.

“I’d never raced the two mile last year,” Hiatt said. “I’m excited to do that this year,”

Whether it is to leave a record at the school or fulfill individual goals, racers are required to challenge their limits in order to be pleased with their performances. 

“A successful race is when I finish and I feel like I gave it my best and I did my all out, and so even if it’s not a PR, as long as I raced as hard as I could, I feel like that would be successful,” Hiatt said.