On November 30, 2024, I was preparing to race cross-country nationals at a golf course outside London, Ontario. It was -14℃ with the wind chill; the temperature was frigid. My first instinct was to start putting on layers before we raced so I wouldn’t freeze. But 15 minutes before the race started, beaming, my teammate pulled out something I would’ve never expected: a 3L Kirkland brand jug of extra-virgin olive oil. He exclaimed, “this will keep us warm, boys!”

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I was confused. I had just bought an overpriced quarter zip from the merch stand so I wouldn’t freeze to death. What would olive oil do for me? Well dear reader, I probably shouldn’t have dropped Ms. Mantchenko’s grade 11 chemistry course. Turns out, olive oil has a lower thermal conductivity compared to water or air, meaning it can act as a thin insulating layer that keeps the runner warm. 

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After the race, I learned that my teammate had found this interesting revelation from a viral clip of Brigham Young University’s (BYU) cross-country team applying olive oil to their bodies minutes before they raced in this year’s N.C.A.A National Championships. They would later win a historic title victory, being the 5th team in N.C.A.A history to win the championship in both the men’s and women’s categories. The BYU coach would credit part of the historic win to the application of olive oil.

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While odd in 2024, this trick was common practice back when our teachers were still children. Ed Eyestone, BYU’s men’s cross-country coach called it “an old-school running trick.” When asked about the use of olive oil, he said, “I used it as an athlete many times, I won the N.C.A.A title 40 years ago wearing some brown gardening gloves and bare arms and shorts. That was a much worse day (compared to this year’s race). I used olive oil.”

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The BYU men’s team who won the national title in 2019, had also bathed in olive oil. Referring to the 2019 race, Eyestone said, “It was raining, very cold, miserable, worse conditions.” 

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The practice of applying olive oil goes even further back in time than Eyestone’s prime years. Going to the home of olive oil, Ancient Greek Olympians would compete in a coat of olive oil. While Ancient Greek Olympians weren’t facing the freezing temperatures of North American cross-country, they did have the beating sun of the Mediterranean. They used olive oil as a form of sunscreen and believed it would bring them good luck and strength (similar to many modern-day sports superstitions).

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With all these benefits, you should know a few bits of information before you apply olive oil too. Eyestone recommends only applying olive oil for races that are under 30 minutes on a moderately cold day. Otherwise, you should take a less pizza-like approach and just wear more layers. 

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Too bad my other teammates and I didn’t take the olive oil approach like BYU or our teammate with the 3L jug of oil. We ended up finishing 6th as a team compared to first last year, with most of us running a poor race except for two: one placed third in the nation and is headed to a Division 1 Ivy League school. The other runner? It was the olive oil kid. Maybe next time, I’ll be the first to bring a 3L jug of olive oil. 

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