The Colby Women's Cross Country team, which gained varsity status in 1977, has flourished and built a strong tradition of success. The team won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) titles in 1986 and 1994 while appearing in the NCAA Championships 30 times while finishing fifth in the nation in both 2004 and 2005. In its history, the Colby Women's Cross Country program has collected 14 All-America awards including most recent two-time All-American and two-time NESCAC Champion Sophia Gorman '21 and the four-time All-American Michelle Severance '94. 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 harriers 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.
Colby's cross-country 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
