Despite coaching her runners from a distance during races, cross-country coach Andrea Grove-McDonough never fails to make her presence felt.

Because runners don’t have a lot of interaction with their coach during a race, pre-race strategies are important in order for the team to develop.

“You’re on the grind when you’re out on the course,” said graduate student Margaret Connelly. “Having a solid race plan going into a race definitely helps.”

Connelly has been running cross-country since fifth grade and has a lot of experience forming and following racing strategies and making adjustments during a race.

Runners on the team said Grove-McDonough’s racing strategies are not very specific but important to understand.

“Any race strategies that I’ve gotten for cross-country have been fairly general,” said sophomore Bethanie Brown. “They tell me to not go out too hard [during races] but to climb my way through the pack.”

Brown said that having a specific plan for a race also gives runners a sense of reassurance during races and relieves some of their stress so they don’t worry about how fast or slow of a pace to run.

Grove-McDonough develops a racing strategy based on the runners’ performances during practices and previous competitions.

“[Racing strategies] are pretty important because the [coaches] know how each athlete performs at their best from seeing us at workouts,” Connelly said. “They’ll tell us whether to ease into it and not to go out too fast.”

Although a strategy is important to develop before a race begins, adjustments are also necessary. Grove-McDonough gives those adjustments during races.

“[The coaches] give helpful feedback during a race,” Connelly said. “If you’re going too fast, or you look stressed, they’ll definitely make themselves heard on the side.”

Brown said that words of encouragement from Grove-McDonough during a race might not mean a lot outside of the race, but they make a big difference while racing.

“During a race, a lot of times [Grove-McDonough] will shout out words that are positive and things to keep us going during a race,” Brown said.

Iowa State will travel to Madison, Wis. on Oct. 17 to compete in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. The Cyclones will compete against 39 teams from across the country in the women’s competition during the sixth-annual event.

The team will focus on staying healthy and gaining experience for the Big 12 Championships, which take place Nov. 1 in Lawrence, Kan.