Running Uphill: Lessons in Resilience from the Hyde Cross Country Team

By: Shaw Bridges

Resilience is not just about how far a runner can push themselves in a race—it’s about how a team responds when things don’t go according to plan. At Hyde, the cross country team is learning that lesson every day, whether it’s stepping up to cover dining hall jobs, supporting a teammate through an injury on the trail, or holding one another accountable during practice. The work ethic and accountability they’re building extends beyond the course. When these athletes commit to the practice schedule, show up for dining hall jobs, and bring the right energy to home and away meets, they’re reinforcing the idea that resilience comes from consistency, not just talent.

Courage is perhaps the most visible trait among the team members this season. Take Hector, who, though sidelined from running, still showed up to support his teammates at the second Hebron meet. Or Bryce, a newcomer pushing through shin pain to cut down his 5K time week after week—zeroing in on breaking the 30-minute barrier. Elise, another first-year runner, has shown courage by setting personal records in back-to-back races, leaning into discomfort rather than away from it. These moments remind the Wolfpack that courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s the decision to show up.

If courage gets runners to the line, integrity keeps them accountable. At Hyde, integrity shows up in the little things: taking ownership of dining hall jobs, sticking to the workout plan during partner runs, even when no one is watching, and following through on commitments. Coach Reid and I have come to depend on Captain Sofi’s coordination in mustering her peers at dinner jobs for the betterment of the Hyde community. In practice, that means not cutting corners, skipping out on hill repeats, or walking on the long runs. In the classroom, it means preparing, actively listening and constructively responding to, and showing respect for peers in discussions, labs, or group presentations.

The culture coach Reid has helped build into this program over the past two years has instilled a work ethic that a team of mostly new Wolfpack runners have taken with them into their classrooms. Integrity has become the steady rhythm beneath the team’s training and schoolwork, teaching them that resilience is built on mutual trust.

Leadership has also been crucial in shaping the team’s culture this season. Captain Sofi Begonja has embraced the challenge of leading warmups, motivating the girls’ team, and making sure her teammates take responsibility for jobs. Roberto and Filippo, the boys’ frontrunners, have modeled leadership by grinding through seven-mile training runs and then summoning the strength to crest Hebron’s dreaded final hill with second and third place finishes. Jacopo, Sawyer, Hector, and Brian, too, have stepped into leadership, showing that it’s not just the fastest runners who set the tone, but those willing to encourage others when legs are heavy and motivation wavers.

Curiosity has been just as important—especially in the classroom. During a recent role-play debate set in a colonial inn, Hyde runners took on the voices of American colonists weighing the risks and rewards of declaring independence. The same hunger to test their limits on the trails translated into probing questions and bold arguments: What would freedom cost? Was loyalty to Britain worth security, or was liberty worth the risk of war? Jana and Sofi provided in-depth commentary on Thomas Paine and Abigail Adams in our sixth period Socratic seminar on the historical meaning of the Declaration of Independence in AP US History before heading off to change for practice. That curiosity to explore ideas deeply and take intellectual risks is the same quality that pushes them to discover how much more they can give when the course turns uphill. It’s been a pleasure listening to scholar-athletes like Hector, Brian, Savannah, Roberto, Jacopo, Matteo, and Taio challenge each other in the morning as colonists debating independence in an eighteenth century tavern, and then finish their days stretching together in the Joe. 

Finally, there is concern—the glue holding the team together. It was visible at Hebron when, after grinding up that brutal final hill, Roberto, Filippo, Jacopo, and Taio stayed at the finish line, legs shaking, clapping for every teammate and cheering on John, Jerry, Bella, Savannah, and Oda up the steep crest of that last Hebron slope. Concern also surfaced in the quiet moments after the race: Jacopo came up to me, still catching his breath, to tell me how impressed he’d been with teammate and fellow U.S. History classmate Taio’s performance—how he had stayed with the Wolfpack most of the way and pushed through some lingering pain from a healed injury. Those words mattered. Concern shows itself when runners double back during practice to finish alongside a struggling teammate, or when a captain checks in to see how someone’s day is going. Concern makes clear that at Hyde, no one runs—or learns—alone.

Beyond the daily grind, the Wolfpack has also bonded in unforgettable ways. Whether slogging through buggy tidal marshes at Morse Mountain, wading ankle-deep in salt water before charging up the sandy trail to Small Point Beach, or powering through a workout on the wide, windswept flats of Popham, the team has learned that shared struggle often culminates in good cheer and laughter among comrades as much as toughness. Those same afternoon practices ended with exhausted voices hoarse from transit van rides back to campus—the team all singing at the top of their lungs to Katy Perry or Walk the Moon—reminding everyone that joy is just as vital to resilience as grit—and I guess to just shut up and dance?

As the season picks up with two races this week with Thursday’s meet against BCA and the upcoming Saturday Invitational at Marianapolis, the team is not just building endurance for running, but resilience for life. In weekly faculty meetings, it’s clear these same students are raising the level of classroom discussions, tutoring peers, and striving for excellence academically. On the course and in the classroom, they are proving that resilience isn’t about avoiding struggle—it’s about showing up for each other, again and again, with the grit to keep moving forward. That’s the Wolfpack way.