Twelve hours is an extraordinary amount of time for anyone to spend on one activity. Yet that’s the typical amount of time the indoor track team spends at meets — and that doesn’t even factor in travel time.

It’s a mystery to most as to what exactly the team does for all that time, but as team member Llewellyn Smith says, “Indoor track meets are more than just stepping out onto the track and running.” That’s why The Spectator took a closer look at how the team pushes through a day that’s one part frenzied scrambling, one part mindless passage of the time and a whole lot of hanging out with friends.

6:30 a.m. — The runners wake up at their houses and prepare for the meet. For breakfast, the team hydrates and avoids starch-heavy foods. Bleary-eyed, they arrive early at Whitman to catch the bus that seems to never depart at the same time for each meet. Most meets take place at PG Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, Md.

8:15 a.m. – Before some competitions, the bus makes a stop at a supermarket so the runners can hastily stock up on healthy foods such as Powerbars and Gatorade, although every so often a runner buys foods that draw confused stares from teammates. According to junior Elizabeth Frank, last year a few runners even bought entire roast chickens to take with them.

8:30 a.m. –During warm-ups, the Sherwood team dons new neon-yellow warm-up jerseys and runners from Magruder run their hands through their newly spray-painted hair. For their part, Whitman distance boys sport “Bethesda Swag District” singlets.

9:00 a.m. – The meet always begins with a 4×800-meter relay. The pre-race routines play out like a comedy of errors. Runners “go to the bathroom 12 times and calm down the sophomores, who are having panic attacks,” Frank says. Last-minute stops prove problematic, however, because runners must strip off their spiked shoes before making a final mad dash to the bathroom. After the first race, a starting gun goes off every few minutes. The repeated jolts certainly don’t help already anxious runners, who are struggling to mentally prepare for the race. “It’s so stressful,” junior Alexandra Phillips says. “It feels like your head’s about to explode.”

9:10 a.m. — During the long waits between races, runners catch up on the latest gossip, attempt to figure out Monday’s math homework and jam to junior Nick Adams’ latest mashup. Although normally only a select few listen to the mashups, Adams says that he’s “trying to spread them.”

10:00 a.m. – As they take a lap around the stadium, the remaining members of girls cross-country make sure to casually stroll past the Walter Johnson boys track team, some of whom were members of November’s state-championship cross-country team. Later, at home, the girls will drop a comment in their ongoing Facebook message with the cross-county boys about the dinner date the boys have yet to take them on, proving that track meets are good for more than just burning calories.

9:00 p.m. — The meet ends with a 4×400-meter relay. The runners slowly clean up and walk outside, straining their eyes in the pitch-black night to find the right bus.

10:30 – Late at night, the team arrives back at Whitman and staggers off the bus, exhausted by a physically demanding and mentally draining day. Phillips sums up the meets: “I don’t think there’s anything more painful than a track meet, except maybe having your arm chopped off,” Phillips says. “But having my friends on the team makes it worth it.”