When it comes to cross country, there’s the regular season that spans most of the fall semester, and then then there’s the real season, the part of the schedule when everything is decided.

Alabama’s 2019 cross country season actually began on August 31, when the women’s team placed first and the men third at the Brooks Memphis Twilight hosted by Christian Brothers University.

But it wasn’t the full Crimson Tide team competing in Memphis, as most of Alabama’s best runners skipped the event. Track coach Dan Waters compared it to Nick Saban using his third-string players against a lesser opponent and saving his starters for big-name foes down the road.

“It was a big recruiting year for us,” said Waters, who added 12 cross country runners on the men’s side alone. “It makes for an interesting front end of the season. There will be a lot of moving parts, a lot of moving kids in and out of the roster. I’m really anxious to see who’s really competitive at the end of the season.

“You’ll probably see a different lineup every week.”

Meanwhile, the real season for the Crimson Tide begins Oct. 4, when Alabama visits the Notre Dame Invitational. From there the men will participate in the Princeton Invitational while the women head to the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. Both meets will be on Oct. 19.

That’s the entire season for the top echelon runners, especially on the men’s side. The SEC Championships are set for November 1 at Kentucky, followed by the NCAA Southern Regional at Tallahassee on November 15, where only the two teams will advance to the NCAA Championships back at Indiana State on Nov. 23.

(The Alabama men were sixth at regionals, and the women eighth. Alfred Chelanga won the men’s regional, but finished 12 at the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wisc., where he ran the 10,000-meter course on a snowy, 22-degree afternoon.)

That’s the prize this year for Alabama, getting the teams to Terre Haute.e

“Our main goal is to make nationals,” graduate student Gilbert Kigen said.

If you’re confused, a moment please to explain.

The general belief in distance running is that there are two effective ways to train, in altitude or in humidity. The first is a big reason why Northern Arizona is considered a powerhouse in the sport, as the school is located in the mountains in Flagstaff.

The problem with the humidity is that it will wear runners down. The buildup for the fall season actually begins back in May, as soon as the outdoor track season ends, yet there’s not a lot to be gained by running everyone in numerous races.

“For the men, they have to run a 10K at the regional race, and then the national championship race,” Waters said. “That’s back-to-back two 10Ks within 10 days, which is incredibly taxing on the body. The women run a 6K all season long, but that’s a lot of mileage to be racing during a relatively short season.

“You have to be very careful with how hard you run them.”

One way to do so is sort of start with the end of the season and work your way back with making plans and establishing training regimens.

The other key is developing depth, especially since the top five finishers count toward a team’s race score. At the beginning of the season a coach may not have a strong idea about who will be the final couple of starters, which makes the them between a tryout process of elimination.

In the larger scope, the more people pushing from the bottom, the better the team should be overall.

“I think it’s important to have guys every day that you can go out and practice, be competitive with,” said junior Oliver Rigg, who just happens to be from Indiana. “No one should be running by themselves, I guess, it’s important to have a group of guys to train with.

“That’s really why I came here. I knew I could go to a smaller school and run with people who may not be as good, or I could be on the total opposite side of that spectrum, come to a big school and be pushed every day.”

On the men’s side, Kigen is the Crimson Tide’s lead runner. At the NCAA outdoor championships in the spring he led Alabama by placing second in the 10,000 meters and fourth in the 5,000 meters. One online service dedicated to the sport tabbed him as the preseason person to beat for the NCAA title.

Fellow Kenyan Vincent Kiprop is also considered one of the sport’s top runners, while freshman Eliud Kipsang and redshirt freshman Noel Rotich have posted strong times in the past.

Among the candidates to fill out the postseason lineup include senior James Brinyark, transfer Brad Cheek from Samford, and transfer Elliott Gindi, who arrived from Northern Arizona.

As for the women’s team the hierarchy isn’t as clear cut, yet the goal is the same, to make nationals.

“Our coaches have done a great job of recruiting younger women who have competed on a national level already, and that’s something we really haven’t had in the past,” junior Caroline Brooks said. “Having those newcomers come in and make a different already is just great. And if they can handle the workload we can get this done.”

Going back to that initial Memphis meet, freshman Allison Wilson led Alabama, finishing third at a 5K time of 17:52.68 after running with the top pack for most of the race. Right behind her was senior Rebecca Buteau in fifth at 17:53:14.

The Crimson Tide had seven runners finish in the top 20.

“It’s one of the best teams we’ve had in a while,” Buteau said. “There’s a lot of freshmen coming in, so a lot of it depends on how well they make the transition. It’s always really nice to see just how every year we get better recruits. It just keeps building the program.”