A complete guide to surviving X-Co -Bella P and Molly N

Lifestyle Opinion School Sport Bella p March 13, 2025 0 Comments

Although some believe that denying the inevitable x-co will somehow trigger a miracle cancellation (NOT gonna happen but feel free to pray for a shorter route), the dreaded and looming competition is still coming up soon. So here’s some tips from the self-proclaimed x-co gurus who have competed almost every year (a perhaps convenient timing to roll an ankle playing netball or have ‘braces problems’). We feel qualified to give this advice having been on 2 emergency preparation runs to make up for not going on a run for a year.

Tip 1: perhaps not something directly benefitting you, but more for the marshals (*cough* Mr Hodson *cough*)- don’t throw up on the finish line. This may seem obvious but remember, we’re not all Sean. Luckily Mr Hodson has escaped the danger zone that is the finish line (for this year at least), so good luck to whoever has taken his place.

Tip 2: Go for a practice run. We’re not pretending we are good at it, or even enjoy it, but we would recommend preparing yourself for the pain you will experience after the race. Unfortunately we have learnt this the hard way when we struggled to descend the stairs for breakfast the morning after our (short) first run.

Tip 3: Do it. Not to be confused with the Nike slogan ‘Just Do It’, which perhaps oversimplifies the difficulty of x-co. But do it. There’s only up to 6 left depending on what year you are in. Painting your face in your house colours and writing your house name down your legs is the perfect way to boost school spirit or show your superiority to rival houses. Top Tip: make sure you know how to spell your house- especially if you are in Raleigh (NOT Raliegh or Railegh). There aren’t an infinite number of times to represent your house, so do it and don’t forget to check the face paint comes off BEFORE applying it!

And that’s all the advice we could think of. We really struggled to narrow down our infinite wisdom but we hope to see you all following the tips. As a final resort, I’m sure Sean can coach you through it while he laps you.

See you on the x-co course!