Embarking on a six-week 5-Kilometer race training program, Girls Cross Country Co-Captain Chloe Song ’26 first began running in fifth grade. As she started middle school, she joined the school’s cross country team and realized her newfound passion for distance running.
Song started Girls Cross Country as a Junior and immediately felt a sense of belonging. Stepping into her final season as Co-Captian, she follows various role models, whom she explained have taught her what it means to be a leader.
Song said, “Being on the team was my most formative experience here. To be able to lead a team was one of my biggest aspirations as an Upper. My sister, [Ashley Song ’23], was a [Girls] Cross Country [Co-]Captain, and in all the past years, all the captains have been different. Emma Hagstrom ’25, for example, was more introverted. Patricia Tran [’24] was very, very hardworking.
Song continued, “Because they have all had different styles, I now understand that being a leader looks different for everyone, and everyone has their own strengths and unique traits that they bring to the table. That is the main understanding I have come to embrace. Because I’ve had Captains who have had different leadership styles, I’ve learned to embrace my own style.”
Song has put her leadership skills to good use so far in the season. Despite both Boys and Girls Cross Country totaling a relatively large number of athletes, she aims to create an inclusive and hardworking team environment through team bonding experiences.
“We used preseason to bond: there were a lot of team bonding activities. This week, we trained together for the first time. We did time trials, and then outside of practice, we played pickleball, and that was very fun. We bonded together with some of the guys as well on the team. What is most important is that our team culture and connection, with each other as teammates and out of practice, sets the tone for a lot of the returning runners of how to be a good role model specifically for a tight knit team culture. We had one official practice, but that makes me excited to see how the rest of the season will pan out in terms of meeting new runners and also building new connections with them,” said Song.
Only a few practices into the season, Song’s goal to meet new runners and build connections with them has started to become a reality. Claire Bancroft ’28 described the Co-Captain’s impact on the team, noting how she makes everyone feel seen.
“She’s very inclusive. On one of the first days of preseason, we were making team goals and she decided that she wanted to remember every single member’s names on our 80- to 90-person team. And she’s been working towards it, even though we’ve only had a few practices. She makes sure that everyone’s seen and everyone knows that they’re part of the team,” said Bancroft.
Bancroft continued, “Personally, even though I’m a Lowerclassman and she’s a Senior, she’ll still invite me to go downtown with her to eat a meal or to just go on a walk. It makes me feel like I have a bigger place or a bigger role on the team.”
Similarly, Hannah Jung ’28, who got to know Song better through the team’s preseason, described Song’s considerate and hard-working nature, which sets a clear role model for her fellow athletes.
“I found that she’s such a kind person, and she definitely leads by example as well as with her words. Her words do have substance behind them, and she commits to all of the Cross Country commitments other than just running hard… Younger runners can look up to her as a good example, as well as always being there after practice to do post-practice stretches or strength, mobility, or the daily lift,” said Jung.
