Along with the Dobbs girls' "My Sport is Your Sport's Punishment," which was also favored by a number of other teams, the following tally lists some of the better XC sayings seen on the backs of runners from around the country at the Manhattan Invitational:

--Run like you stole something

--Fast women have good times

--We have a serious case of the runs

--XC has no half-times, no timeouts, no substitutions

--Our shoes have more miles than your car

--Shut up & run

--I'm the fast woman your mother warned you about

--Cross Country. Finally a practical use for golf courses

--Anyone can run 100 meters, it's the last 4900 that count

--The truth is you can always run harder. Sometimes the truth hurts.

--Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

--Sweat happens

--Track is a mental sport and we're all insane

--Tough times don't last, but tough people do

--We sweat like boys, get covered in mud, wear no makeup, and chug a gallon of gatorade so we can beat you at the finish.

--It's not the miles you put in, it's what you put into the miles. Okay it's both.

--They never said it would be easy. They only said it would be worth it.

--Pain is temporary. Pride is forever.

--(one for the Big Apple) XC is the way to be hard core (picture of apple core)

Last year of course the favorite was, "We eat hills for breakfast."