Through woods, over hills, and across streets they run. In pouring rain and blistering heat they run. As their crudely spray painted T-shirts read, they run until their “muscles burn and veins pump battery acid”. Then they run some more. They are the Dartmouth Boys Cross Country Team.

Although many in the school may not consider cross country a “real” sport, there is no denying the boys’ team’s 5-1 record. “If you consider a sport competition, then cross country is the epitome of a sport,” said junior runner Ray Paul Biron. The team currently has the best record compared to all other DHS sports teams.

Coach and U.S history teacher, Mr. Reed said last week, “This is the first time in my 9 years here that we have remained undefeated this long into the season.”

Being a three-year member of the cross country team, my article obviously contains some bias. However, from running on the team, I can say from experience that there is something to be learned from their positive attitude and work ethic.

Even without many fans and little attention from the school, cross country still finds motivation to win meets. When asked about the crowds at cross country meets Biron replied, “Crowds? What crowds?”

But these runners don’t need screams from a crowd to get their legs moving. They find inner motivation. Senior and cross country newcomer, Bud Barry, summed it up best when he said, “Its all about when your legs say no, but your mind says go.”

A major reason for the boy’s success is attributed to the work they put in over the summer. Many on the team trained hard early in the summer, long before the actual season even began. “We definitely stepped up our training this year,” said Captain Adam Wang.

 “We trained all summer, and the captains showed great leadership,” said senior, and one of the top runners, John Breault. In addition, some of the boys have been doing extra training after their running workouts.

“A big part of our success this year is that our boys have been going to the weight room after practice,” said Mr. Reed.

The team’s original goal was to beat the Big Three: Durfee, Brockton, and New Bedford. The boys came up with the motto “XCX3” (Cross Country times 3) to motivate themselves to reach this goal. However, the slogan has become obsolete. All three teams were outrun by the Dartmouth boys.

So what’s the main reason behind the team’s success? Is it the excessive amount of stretching they do before each practice? No. Is it the endless laps they do around the Friends Academy Woods? Absolutely not. Their extremely short shorts? Well, maybe they play a small role.

 But the main force behind the teams winning streak is its philosophy of supporting one another, working together, and striving to do ones personal best. “We have a really solid team this year, said Captain Alex Walecka. “It’s the best team I’ve ever been on in any sport.”

The team is notorious for its love of carbohydrates. Before every meet the entire cross country team meets up at a member’s house for a massive spaghetti dinner. These dinners have resulted not only in a more carbed up team, but also a more unified one.

Bud Barry said, “We’re a combination of all different people to create a juggernaut of a team.”

Despite its success, the team still has a long way to go. “The hardest race will be against Taunton. They have a lot of great young runners,” said Walecka. Unfortunately, he was right; Dartmouth had its first loss against Taunton on Tuesday.

The team has only two more meets left on its schedule: Barnstable at home on the October 26, and the OCL League Meet on October 29.

Head Coach Hilary Sousa said, “We’ll need to be at our best to compete with those talented teams.”