Doha College triumphs at the QUESS Cross Country Championships in Dukhan

Cross-country running goes as far back in the history of the human race as almost any activity we know. Running is deep in our societal history and is considered the most natural of all athletic movements. 

To the uninitiated, cross-country must appear to be a very simple sport and therefore, an easy sport to coach. However, the most successful cross-country coaches know that to get a student to run a cross-country race consistently faster than the opposition, the athlete must avail themselves of all the knowledge and ingenuity they can muster.

Why do we run?

The psychologist might reason that we run because of the desire to excel or to achieve. From earliest childhood, a person may strive for some form of recognition and a sense of power over others, in what is a natural activity for most. 

Physiologically we run for physical fitness and to improve health. Doherty suggests that physiologists believe we run because our bodies are built for it: 

• running hearts, running lungs

• running muscles, running bones

Ultimately, we believe that running presents a challenge, it enables an individual to perform as a team to collectively achieve success for Doha College.

Roger Bannister wrote in his autobiography - The Four Minute Mile, 

‘For nearly ten years I have been running many times a week and my grasp of the reason why I run continues to grow. Running through mud and rain is never boring. Like 10,000 cross-country runners, their number ever increasing, I find in running - win or lose - a deep satisfaction that I cannot express in any other way. However strenuous our work, sport brings more pleasure than some easier relaxation. It brings a joy, freedom and challenge which cannot be found elsewhere. I sometimes think that running has given me a glimpse of the greatest freedom a man can ever know, because it results in the simultaneous liberation of both body and mind. Running is creative. The runner does not know how or why they run. They only knows that they must run.’

Taking this into consideration, many students from Doha College journeyed to Dukhan to participate in the annual QUESS Cross Country Championships. We are delighted to report that our team emerged victorious in the competition, conquering the challenges presented by the rugged and sandy terrain and lots of sea breeze air. 

Martin Eldridge, Director of Sport