For the Bison men's and women's cross country teams, running to compete in this year's Summit League Championship on Oct. 31 is feeling a little bit like an uphill battle. That's because the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds in Cedar City, Utah, will be hosting this year's championship and the race will be held at an elevation of 5,782 feet above sea level, which is nearly a mile higher than Fargo, at 904 feet.

Head coach Ryun Godfrey said there is simply no way to train for those conditions without training at altitude. "When you watch runners compete at these higher altitudes, you see them struggle and stagger and they can't keep their footing," he said. "A lot of people go down." According to the 2009 NCAA Championship Qualifying Time Altitude Adjustments chart, a 4:49.30 mile run at sea level is equivalent to a 4:57.52 for the same athlete in Cedar City. "Southern Utah is the only school that has the advantage," Godfrey said, "because they are training at altitude. The rest of the schools are all in the same boat."

The cross country teams head to West Salem, Wis., on Oct. 17 to compete in the Jim Drews and Tori Neubauer Invitationals. The events will be the men's and women's final races before the Summit League Championships and will help the Bison coaches to determine who will compete at the championship. During the regular season, the teams compete with 12 runners, Godfrey said, but at the championship, teams are limited to seven and only the top five score points for the team. Godfrey said the toughest competition for championship berths is on the men's team, where the athletes are running in a tight pack.

The Bison were picked in a coach's poll to finish third at the championship, but Godfrey said the poll results are taken with a heavy grain of salt. "Sometimes teams look average until the end of the season," he said. "At the championship, win-loss records don't mean anything, because individuals react differently to their training throughout the season." Godfrey said the goal is to prepare every athlete for the end of the season and the championship. No matter which altitude the Bison compete at, the championship will be a challenge, Godfrey said. "Our conference has a very good tradition in distance running," he explained, "and so it's a strong conference to be a part of."