Over the summer seniors Alex Cintado and Dan Cheung each ran over 500 miles in preparation for the upcoming cross country season.

“We probably ran about 60 miles a week,” said Cheung. “It’s tough, but you have to do it.”

Although Cintado has been competing on the track and field team for the past three years, this will be his first year on the cross country team after quitting soccer to focus on running.

“All my life I’ve been a soccer player,” said Cintado. “But I really enjoyed the attitude of running, the atmosphere of it and the coaching staff.”

Head Coach Bill Race said he is glad that Cintado decided to run this fall.

“[Cintado] definitely leads by example for the younger runners,” said Race. “During the summer running camp, he was the first there and the last to leave.”

Race also appreciates how Cintado and Cheung help each other out by supporting one another during practice and team workouts.

Cintado and Cheung both think that they challenge each other in their performances.

“Dan and I like to push the pace, sometimes to the point where it gets too competitive, and we end up sprinting, but I think it’s all for fun,” Cintado said.

Cintado and Cheung also maintain a friendship outside of cross country.

“There was this one time Dan lost his iPod, and he put it in someone else’s bag,” Cintado said.

Before Cintado knew that he had the iPod, Cheung made a post in the Facebook cross country group saying that if anyone found it, he would cut his hair.

“It turned out, [Cheung] had accidentally put it in my bag,” Cintado said.

Because Cintado found Cheung’s iPod, Cheung now has to get a haircut.

“You can expect him to have shorter hair sometime soon,” Cintado said.

Despite the turn of events, Cheung does not mind.

“Well, I guess I was in need of [a haircut], so this whole hooha served as a nice way to get around to it,” said Cheung. “Also, I received my iPod and now my hair can grow out again, so I guess it all ended well.”