Cross-country running is a not a sport for the weak minded or physically unfit. As a former cross-country runner myself, I can attest to the grueling practice schedules we adhered to from early September till mid-November.

Coach never let us miss a practice, no matter what the weather conditions happened to be. We ran in the scorching afternoon sun and in the pouring rain. As the season drew to a close and the weather turned cooler, we’d often have to run our races with snow flurries falling around us.

A lot of people called us crazy. We’d be out running on the streets before the sun was up, logging an insane number of miles day after day. I had planned on continuing my running career at U of T, but when I realized the practice schedule wouldn’t allow me to compete in the other sports I enjoyed, I decided to quit competitive running.

Most days, I am content with my decision. But there are certain times, like when I interview people like Beth Wightman, that I wish I were still pounding the streets early in the morning.

Cross-country running requires ridiculous amounts of discipline and persistence, two qualities that seem to run through Beth Wightman’s veins. Wightman is completing her second year of a Master’s in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto.

Prior to attending U of T, Wightman received a degree from Queen’s University. In addition to her academic accomplishments, the athlete is also a star on the university cross-country circuit.

During her time at Queen’s, Wightman won her fair share of medals, including two Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship titles. Making the switch to the U of T team proved to be easy for the unassuming student.

“U of T has been really good to me as an athlete,” she said. “I received some really good coaching here, very similar to what I had at Queen’s, so it wasn’t too much of a change.”

Wightman added multiple invitational titles to her trophy cache this past season, including an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship and her third CIS title in just five years. She was also named to the first All-Canadian team.

As talented as she is, Wightman remains modest and continually tries to deflect attention away from herself: “The team we had this year was amazing; we all got along really well and all wanted to compete well as a team. So it was great to go out there and do it.”

The Blues did indeed compete well. At the CIS championships, the women’s team-which included Wightman, Erin McClure, Jacqueline Stillman, Julia Kirby, and Donna Vakalis- ran away with a silver medal, their best finish since winning the title in 2002.

The men’s team-Joe Campanelli, Jose Carvalho, Etienne Bredin, Nathan Jowett, and Steve Anthony-managed a ninth-place finish. This is an indication of good things to come, as the team is still fairly young and will continue to develop.

Most of these cross-country runners will be returning to the track this winter to compete on the indoor track-and-field circuit. In addition to Canadian university meets, Wightman has qualified for the FISU World University Cross-Country Championships in Algeria. The competition will be held the last week of March.

After she graduates, Wightman says she is going to try to keep competing at a high level for at least a couple of years to see how fast she can get.