Cross Country runners are a different breed. They don’t run inside stadiums on well-manicured tracks before thousands of cheering fans. Many times they are running 3.1 miles on dirt paths in the woods isolated from the cheers of their parents and friends driven solely by their own motivation to do well.
At Vero Beach High School first-year head cross country coach April Kremkau recognizes what it takes to be a cross country runner.
“These are mainly AP and Honors students and they have a very strict self-discipline,” Kremkau said. “It takes a person strong within themselves to want to come out and run long distances every day in the Florida sun. Many of these kids are on the math team or members of Student Government. They are intelligent, confident athletes and that’s what it takes.”
Junior runner Angelic Fleites is in her second year on the team and appreciates the effort that Coach Kremkau and the sport of cross country demands.
“The sport takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It teaches me what hard work is and what you put in is what you get out of it,” Fleites said. “It basically has helped me realize that any obstacle can be overcome and I can pretty much do anything.”
The girls’ team has gone on to states every year since 1999 and Coach Kremkau credits the parents and community for the team’s past and future success.
“We have always had great family support,” Kremkau said. “Not only parents but grandparents, aunts and uncles, and siblings who may have been involved with cross country. It’s a community, not just a sport.”
Fleites echoed her coach’s thoughts about the team’s tight knit dynamic.
“Our team is like a family and sometimes you have to tolerate each other and that teaches us patience,” Fleites said. “We aren’t running a quick race like in track. We need to be patient and pace ourselves during our race. Coach April can relate to us because she was a runner and I feel comfortable with her as our coach win or lose.”
