What are good base training for cross country for a large group?

I'm doing my Capstone (it's like a senior project, but not for seniors), and I am planning, and coaching, an off-season workout program for the cross country team. Our team is not very motivated, and it will be a large group. What are some workouts that will help get them in shape, as well as keep them engaged and motivated?|||I have been running for 8 years now and would recommend for you the following:





I would strengthen the core: calves, quads, hams, back and abdominal (the "six pack" muscles along with the obleks), chest and arms. But when strengthening these muscles, I would focus more on the muscle endurance not the muscle bulk. For more advice for this, I would consult with a personal trainer. For the running part, I would stay flexible as it helps/contributes to your balance (so do the muscles in your core) but also helps prevent some injuries like pulled muscles and shin splints. Also, I would try to make up a schedule where you can run for X amount of days and try to have a long run. I would start off slowly, running about 2-3 miles per run for the first week and increase my mileage per week. Make sure you have the following: a good diet, hydration, sleep, a good sense on how to take care of your body, and sleep. But make sure you make smaller training groups. Good Luck!!!|||Nequa Valley (naperville, IL) won the Nike Team Nationals this past year. They post their summer training schedule on their website.





That could be a good place to start.|||Mix it up with how you do things. Say one day you do a 6 mile run, don't just do the same the next day. Have a "game day" on Friday's if they show improvement from the week before. Definitely Ultimate Frisbee is good. Also, do the same route once a week every week. Keep a time on it for everybody (that seems menacing, since it's a large group, but it's possible) to show improvement. Everybody likes to see how much they improved by. Make sure the routes a racing distance (5k) so they have a general idea of where they would be in a race. Tell them to compete with each other too: not necessarily to go all out every practice, but make sure to tell them that if they improve now, they'll be better off when the season starts. Sometimes it helps to put in there "I think you guys could win a few meets this year." That should get them going. Who wouldn't want to win? It helps them work harder and have more fun as well.|||hmmm every so often we would run to say a park that was like a mile or a litle more away from where we started and we would play games like football, soccer, ultimate frisbee. or we would run to somewhere to get ice cream.... i think the main thing is just to let them have fun with the run