Facing the heat: Duke cross country’s out-of-state runners muse on the troubles of steamy Southern weather

Cities like Nashville, Charlotte and Atlanta are hotbeds of culture. Barbecue, biscuits and grits serve as iconic cuisine in South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Yet one fact unifies the whole of the Southern experience: The South is hot, and no one knows that better than the Duke cross country team.

Before Durham

None of Duke’s runners are from North Carolina, meaning that every one of them is at least somewhat new to the state’s climate. Blue Devil runners hail from all over the country — and even across the pond, too.

Coming from Shrewsbury, England, freshman Iris Downes knows all about adverse running conditions. 

“A lot more rain,” Downes joked when asked about the cross country season in England. “I remember once [that] there was this puddle that … came all the way up to my chest. And literally, we went swimming.”

Meanwhile, Fort Collins, Colo., native Ella Johns had a completely different outlook on her cross country seasons at home.

“It’s super hot at the start of [cross country] and by winter training it’s just snow and freezing cold,” the freshman said about her home state. “It does make you stronger, you do power through … it’s also super dry.”

Fellow freshman Rendon Kuykendall also ran in a dry environment during high school in the infamous desert of Albuquerque, N.M. Like Johns, Kuykendall described the conditions as dry and cold, even to the point of “low 30s [and] high 20s most mornings.”

Kuykendall agreed in part, saying that he “was not expecting” the humidity at the beginning of the season. It’s no wonder that these freshmen were startled upon first arriving at Duke, as the humidity in mid-August reached extreme levels. 

During an August that saw temperatures of up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Durham, the Blue Devils endured their summer training, which consisted of a 6:30 a.m. wakeup call in brutal morning humidity. At first, this was tough on the rookies.

“The first week or two, I was like, ‘OK, this is kind of a lot,’” Kuykendall said. “I was not expecting to do that much … is it going to be like this every day?” 

Over time, however, they got used to it. Johns noted that running with the team eased the ugliness of the morning runs. “Everything [is] more fun and enjoyable when you have the team around you,” she said. 

Kuykendall agreed, saying “if you have the team there, you’re fine. You’re all sweating it out.” 

The perfect race

Every runner runs their best in and around circumstances they enjoy. Some have favorite pre-race meals and rituals, while others have preferences towards the time of day, and, yes, even the weather. 

Downes, first and foremost a track runner over cross country, gave an expected answer to how her ideal outdoor race would go. 

“If it’s really wet, I’d like it to be as cold as possible so the ground is hard so it’s all frozen up,” she said. “I like hard ground so there’s no mud.” She then clarified that “as long as it’s not windy and not too cold, it’s OK.”

Johns envisioned a sunset run in her home state of Colorado during the summertime. 

“It’d be so pretty and the temperature [would] be cooling off,” she said. As for the summer season in Durham, the freshman said, “maybe not here.” However, Johns highlighted the conditions at the Elon Opener in particular, given that the race was at night, “under the lights [and] beautiful.” 

Kuykendall kept it brief. “I’m gonna say … 7:00 a.m., 60 degrees, clear skies. I just want to start my day with running.”

The cross country season officially came to an end in November, and all three of these Blue Devils survived the North Carolina weather. So sure, humidity is a tough foe for a runner — but it’s no match for a dedicated Blue Devil. As a reprieve, Duke now switches gears into the indoor track and field season, where weather is, miraculously, completely under control.