A Michigan high school’s cross country team is capturing national attention after video of one of its training exercises went viral.
The video (shot by Tiktok user Quinn Hinesman) shows 18 members of the Gull Lake High School cross country team running together up a sandy slope while carrying a log at Michigan’s infamous Sleeping Bear Dunes along the shore of Lake Michigan.
A Tradition Since 1999
According to a post on a Facebook page for the school’s athletic teams, this has been a summer camp tradition for the cross country team since 1999.
TikTok Fame: 5 Million Views and Counting
Captioned “Who thought this was a good idea?”, Hinesman’s video was posted to Tiktok on the last day of July, and has garnered more than five million views in just two weeks.
Comments from Tiktok viewers flooded in, including one comparing the runners to ants on the sidewalk carrying away his Cheetos. Other viewers expressed hope that their own coaches wouldn’t see the video and get any ideas.
Why Sleeping Bear Dunes Is So Tough
To be fair, it’s hard enough to climb up the dunes without carrying a log. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a notoriously difficult climb — so much so, in fact, that local first responders have had to institute a policy threatening a $3,000 fine for anyone who needs to be rescued…