With sweaty palms and beating chests, the runners are waiting anxiously for the gun to signal the start of the race. The box brings nothing but anxiety. They know the take off will be quick, and the course ahead is all that occupies their minds.

The Chili Pepper is an annual cross country festival held at the University of Arkansas, where the Har-Ber cross country team participates in a 5k race each year. Over 80 college teams and 120 high school teams partake in the races, and this year marks the Chili Pepper’s 28th year.

Coach Chris Clinton expresses high hopes for the season ahead and his runners. He aspires to keep improving the girl’s times, while winning more meets as the season progresses.

“I think you should go in there with a positive attitude even though there are going to be five hundred people in the race and you should think ‘I am going to try and make my time better,’ and not just focus on how many people are in the race or where they are from,” Clinton said.

Sophomore Ebony Hernandez expresses what practices have consisted of, and how they have helped her during season.

“We have been working on speed and stamina, and that is really good because stamina we really need, and he [coach] has been making us do a lot of miles, so that has been helping us a lot,” Hernandez said.

Based on the last few weeks, the weather has not been in favor of the cross country runners. They suffered a 5k race in close to ninety degree weather in Russellville, the meet prior to Chili Pepper, which affected many of the runners’ times. However, the Chili Pepper should be a relatively cooler race- a benefit to those coming out and joining in the races.

“The changing climate will probably make it easier to run since it will not be close to the nineties,” junior Brett Borchert said.

Senior Madison Stamps is going on her last year running cross country as a wildcat, and is ready to improve as she runs each course for a final go-around.

“It is a pretty fast course. There are a few hills, but they are really small. The main hill you go down is downhill, so it is not bad, “ Stamps said.

The Chili Pepper festival brings together teams from schools in various states who come out to have a good time and run a fast race.