Local Cross Country Trio Goes the Extra Uphill Mile

There’s a lot that goes into a great cross country course—long distances, changing terrain and, usually, plenty of hills. But on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, hills are hard to come by. So this local cross country trio has found a creative solution: the Biloxi Bay Bridge.

“One of the big things about running is consistency and you just have to keep hitting those high mileage weeks one after another and eventually they build up and you may not see results for a couple seasons, but eventually you’re building that aerobic system and it’s going to pay off,” said St. Patrick graduate Joseph Ross.

“We’re here at the bridge today so we can get some speed work in and also adapt to the hills because we run cross country and there’s a lot of hills and terrain you’ve got to work through,” Biloxi’s Grayson Lenox said. “You’ve got to be able to run hills so you can move up in spots and perform better in races, and I think it benefits us a lot.”

And they’re not just running the bridge a few times. They’re tackling it 12 times with very little rest in between, after a three-mile warmup—and they’ll still finish the day with four more miles afterward. For Joseph Ross, Owen McMahon and Grayson Lennox, workouts like this are a testament to hard work and perseverance long before the season even begins. Not only has the training made them faster, it’s also built a bond rooted in accountability, pushing each other to improve while helping raise the standard for distance running in Mississippi.

“From the moment we met, we kind of just clicked,” said Biloxi’s Owen McMahon. “They put in the work day in and day out, and I can tell he wants it. That motivates me too. We push each other every day in practice and get better.”

“This guy has taken me under his wing, and I think he’s always believed in me,” Lenox said. “Everybody knows Joseph. He’s kind of a local legend. He’s one of the fastest guys the state’s ever had. He’s consistently performed, won meets and become a state champion. That’s what we want to be.

“I think one of the biggest things that makes us come out here every day is looking online and seeing all these high schoolers do crazy things, like breaking 14 minutes in the 5K. It’s insane. Mississippi has never been a huge running state, but we want to change that and put ourselves in that conversation,” said Ross.

That same motivation and dedication helped Ross achieve one of his biggest goals, signing with the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he’ll begin his collegiate running career this fall. And if these bridge workouts are any indication, McMahon and Lennox are well on their way to following in his footsteps.