Senior runner Mark Bowers says his dedication to cross country is just like any other sport.

But as Bowers puts it, “We just happen to spend hours running half-naked through Bowling Green.”

Bowers, who started running in the seventh grade, said he runs six days a week, accumulating more than 65 miles. To him, nothing is more fun.

“If you are dedicated to school, you are going to spend hours studying,” he said. “If you are dedicated to football, you are going to spend hours on the field.”

Western opens its cross country season tomorrow with the Old Timers’ Classic at Kereiakes Park.

Curtiss Long, assistant coach and former track and cross-country head coach, said if you told the team to run 100 miles a week, it would run 100 miles a week.

“Some would run 120 miles a week,” he said. “They will work until they cannot run or walk anymore.”

This dedicated work ethic stretches from indoor track in the blistering summer months to the frigid temperatures of November. The runners have roughly three weeks off a year from training.

“We have to change what we eat and what activities we do during the day,” Bowers said. “It’s a lifestyle you have to live to be a distance runner. It all boils down to how much time you are willing to put into it.”

With races frequently taking place on Saturday mornings, Fridays mean having a pasta dinner at Fazoli’s, watching a movie and heading off to bed early. The sacrifices to be successful with the sport don’t end there.

“Sometimes I have to cut my run short so I can study for a test,” senior Patrick Jenkins said.

“I think I have pretty high expectations for myself, and it’s hard for me to figure out when to study and when to run.”

Jenkins said he hopes to attend medical school after graduation. He was named a third-team academic all-American by ESPN the Magazine last season and has maintained a 4.0 cumulative grade point average while at Western.

“I don’t think I could have gotten through my college career without running,” he said. “It’s a blessing to be able to do it.”

Including Jenkins, six of the top eight runners from last year’s Sun Belt Conference championship team are returning for this season’s opener tomorrow.

“When the bus leaves for competition, they want to be on it,” Long said. “They don’t ask you where, how, against whom, they want to be on it. They want a chance to compete. The most exciting day of the week is the day they get the chance to run against someone.”

The women’s 3.1-mile race will open the Old Timers’ Classic at 10 a.m., followed by the men’s 5-mile race at 10:45 a.m.