Utah State Cross Country athlete Natalie Swain is racing to set more records

While some athletes compete on courts and fields, cross-country runners find their challenge on long winding trails which may include hills, obstacles and uneven terrain. Utah State University Cross Country athlete Natalie Swain has been running these winding trails since her freshman year of high school and is planning on being on the USU team for a fifth year.  

“I ran a little bit when I was younger and did fun runs,” Swain said. “I feel like I knew that I liked running and that maybe I was kind of good at it.”  

Natalie is a senior studying data analytics. She began running cross-country in high school in order to be on the team with her sister. 

“I thought it would be something fun that we could do together. That’s why I ended up getting on the team,” Swain said.  

Natalie’s mom, Becky Swain, said that before her daughter joined the cross-country team, she was a gymnast and a dancer.  

“She ended up getting on the team, and they found out she was good, and so we dropped dance and picked up running,” Becky said. “We weren’t aware that it was her little secret talent.”  

Natalie credits her mom as one of her biggest supporters during her athletic career. 

“She was at every single meet in high school, and she still loves to come to the meets in college,” Natalie said. “It’s so much harder because she has to get plane tickets, but she does. She always shows up.”  

Although her sister drew her to join the team, Natalie said that one thing that made her love the sport was the aspect of being able to chase goals that she is able to set for herself.  

“The aspect of being able to set these high goals for myself and seeing what limits I can push, that makes me really excited,” Natalie said. “It’s really fun for me.”  

Cross-country racing is a long-distance sport involving teams and individuals running through outdoor courses. These long distances can range from 5k to 10k.  

“It’s scored like golf in the idea that you want the lowest score possible,” Natlie said.   

In scored meets, there are usually seven to 10 runners. 

“Of those seven or eight or nine, we’re just trying to get five of them across the line as soon as possible,” Natalie said.  

Since she has joined the team, Natalie has been able to set multiple school records. She ranks fourth all-time at USU in the indoor 3,000 meters, ninth all-time in the 5,000 meters, and fourth all-time in the outdoor 5,000 meters, all set in 2026. 

“I am eager to do more. I feel like that just puts some fire in the flame,” Natalie said. “It feels good, but I want to keep getting better.”   

During her college athletic career, Natalie got injured in March of her sophomore year and had to train for three months before getting back into the fall cross-country season during her junior year.  

“Natalie is tough. She has had adversity in her career and has fought through it,” Becky said. “I have watched her finish three races with undiagnosed fractures.”  

From that experience, Natalie said that one of the biggest lessons she’s learned is resilience and the ability to bounce back.  

“Just keep at it, don’t give up. You can bounce back,” Natalie said.  

She also said that going all in is a good lesson that she’s been able to learn.  

“Whatever you’re passionate about, it can be applied to anything. Go all in and make the sacrifices,” Natalie said. “It’ll pay out in the end.”  

Despite injuries and other adversities, Natalie was honored as a Second Team All-Mountain West athlete in 2025.  

“It was kind of like an ‘I made it’ moment where I’m finally doing what I set out here to do in college, because I did have setbacks in the beginning,” Natalie said. “I just felt a lot of gratitude in that moment.” 

During the race before she was named Second Team, Natalie said her coach was yelling at her off to the side during the last few meters.  

“I remember distinctly in the race — I had probably 300 meters left to go and my coach said, ‘If you catch one girl, you’re all conference,’” Natalie said. “That gave me what I needed to go sprint, and I ended up catching two girls, so that was nice, but that was a really powerful moment that my coach just believed in me and wanted me to get that so bad.”  

For Becky, one of the most memorable races was one of Natalie’s first races. The race was in Virginia, and she traveled to watch.  

“When you’re watching a cross-country race, you’re running as well. You’re running all over the course to try to watch them,” Becky said. “I was just so proud of her to get her dream, because she wanted to run in college. I remember that one really well.”  

One tip from Natalie if anyone wanted to get into cross-country was to just start running and do it with people.  

“Find a running buddy to go train with, and just start,” Natalie said. “You don’t have to be an All-American to be a runner, you can start at any place.” 

She said that the team aspect of her sport is something she has been able to enjoy in both college and high school. 

“I think usually runners are the most down-to-earth people,” Natalie said. “I really enjoy being able to spend time every day on a distance run with my teammates.”