Cross Country or trail running differs from traditional running in that instead of being run on a track or on the road, it occurs in natural areas such as on grass, dirt or mud, or even over water. It also presents the added challenge of dealing with rough terrain like hills. Because each course varies so widely in the amount and nature of the obstacles it delivers, it is difficult to compare times and achievement on different courses. In American high schools, races are typically 3 miles or 5 kilometers long. At the university level, they are 10 kilometers long. In professional running the courses vary in length up to 15 km.

Notable cross country athletes include Kenenisa Bekele, an Ethiopian man who won the gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in the 10 km and the bronze medal in the 5 km.

In American and Canadian high schools, there are several different types of cross country events. Dual meets are faceoffs between two teams of usually 7 runners. Invitationals are larger events with dozens, possibly hundreds of teams entered. Invitationals usually occur in heats based on grade level. In both dual meets and invitationals, score is calculated by adding the number position of the top 5 runners on each team. Whichever team has the lowest score wins. In the event of a tie, whichever team had the lower-scoring 6th runner places higher. High school cross country practices often begin in mid August although team members are encouraged to train on their own throughout the entire summer. Team members often run much farther than during the normal winter and spring track seasons. Sometimes they even run to and from a meet. Many runners use cross country as a way to prepare for the upcoming winter and spring seasons. The longer distances and extra training give them an advantage over those runners who are beginning their season during the winter. Many notable United States track and field distance athletes were high school cross country runners, including Olympic 10,000 meter champion Billy Mills and the late Steve Prefontaine.

• Running
• marathon
• Long-distance track event
• Road running
• Fell running
• Orienteering