AMHERST, N.Y. -- In the world of racing, every level of distance running except for college cross country has men and women running the same distances. In track, from high school to college to pro, men and women run the same distances. They race the same distance on the roads, and in high school cross country across the nation. But not at the college cross country level, where the women race 5K during the season and 6K at the championship level, and the men race 8K's and 10K's.
On Sunday, the Daemen University men's and women's cross country teams will be running in the Equality Invitational in Colchester, Vermont hosted by St. Michael's, and it's though to be the first college cross country meet where both the men and women race the same distance -- 8 kilometers.
"I guess the main reason we're supporting the cause of having the women run the 8K distance is because telling them, or indirectly telling them, that they have to run the 5K distance is sort of insinuating that the women can't do it. That's something we don't want the team to believe, the women or the men," Daemen assistant coach
Kelsey Gratien said. "They've become a very confident team, so they're ready. There's certainly women that would prefer the 5K, but there's also men that would prefer the 5K too, so I think they're ready and it's just another step in gaining confidence in that championship race too, to know that you can race longer distances, just like the men can."
"When I started running in 7th grade, I ran 3,000 meters, and all the guys would run 3,2000, and I always thought why can't I run that? I had that mindset all throughout high school, why can't I do the 1,600? Why do I have to do the 1,500? Coming into college and all the guys are running 8K's and I'm stuck running just a 5K or 6K, I'm excited to show that me as a woman, I can do that. I think it's going to increase my confidence, and that glass ceiling it coming down," Daemen sophomore cross country runner
Emma Cain said.
"I think it's a really cool experience for all of us, we've never raced the same distance as the girls in a cross country meet before, so it's going to be fun with them comparing their times to us, and vice versa, figuring out where they would fall on our team. It's a really cool experience, and not many teams get to do this. Coach Pete was telling me before that there's only a few teams registered for this meet, and so we're one of the only teams with the guys and girls doing the same distance at this 8K, so I think it's exciting," Daemen senior cross country runner
Dominic Clementi said.
"We decided when we saw this meet that it could be a good opportunity, because it's something we believe in as well, for men and women to have equal race distances. We decided it would be a good opportunity to go out there and prove that the women are just as capable as men," Daemen head coach
Pete Gratien said.
"It's great but I think there's more to be done. I have two daughters and a son, and I want them to grow up in a world where they think they're capable of the same things."
The Wildcats travel to Colchester, Vermont this weekend, and will race in the Equality Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 25. The men's 8K race will kick off the day at 10 AM, and the women's 8K race will follow at 11:15 AM.
