The Colby Men's Cross Country team, which gained varsity status in 1969 and has competed in the NCAA Championships 24 times while winning four NESCAC titles (1984, 1987, 1990, 1993). In 2014, Colby finished in fifth place in the country at the NCAA Division III Championships. The Mules won the New England Division III title and placed second at the New England Small College Athletic Conference meet in the same year. In its history the team has collected nine All-American awards including most recent three-time All-American and 2021 Conference Champion Tyler Morris '23. The Cross Country team is led by Head Coach Jared Beers '01, a three-time NESCAC Coach of the Year, who has been with the team since 2006.
The beautiful 714-acre Colby campus encompasses miles of trails that wind through fields and woods. The renowned Campbell Trails, used by the cross-country team for both training and racing, were a gift of Judge and Mrs. Levin Campbell and their daughter Eleanor S. Campbell ’81 of Cambridge, Mass.
Colby’s Cross Country athletes spend virtually every day running on trails, both for the benefits of a softer training surface and to better simulate the rigors of cross country racing. Workouts are designed to improve cellular adaptation and running economy, increase maximum oxygen capacity, and elevate lactate threshold. Training emphasizes individual development, and every effort is made to ensure that each runner is challenged according to his ability, without over-training or under-training.
The team program includes training trips throughout Maine. Popular destinations include Acadia National Park, the Belgrade Lakes region, and Sugarloaf Mountain. We thoroughly believe that variety in our training regimen has been instrumental to our success.
Updated as of July 22nd, 2025
