What I like about Cross country, at least on my kids team, is that improvement is almost as important as winning. It is understood that some people are just physically gifted. If you want to go to state or run varsity, you have to be the best. It is clear who the best runners are and that is what everyone aims for. But, at the same time, they give credit for getting better. My son, who is disabled, is fully accepted, even though every one knows he will not win the race. When he started he could barely run on lap around the track, but by the first race he was able to finish 2nd to last on a 2.2 mile race. His full 3 mile race he was around 34 minutes but by the end of the year he was running around 24 min. Still not fast, but a great improvement. It has helped him both physically and socially. Life is certainly not fair or as easy for him, but he knows that with hard work he can be as good or better than most others. His achievements in high school so far include a letter in Cross country, being sophomore home coming prince, student of the Month, and getting a 3.7 GPA.