At 4:00 pm every Friday in the fall, when other teams are just getting started with practice, a high-pitched rattling comes across the track. To the tune of screaming and raucous energy, the boys of the Cross Country team hurl a rickety shopping cart around campus, its contents clanging inside with a flag bearing the letters “MAXC” in the classic blue and orange painted lettering. The industrial speaker inside the cart contrasts with the garnished exterior covered in shiny pom-poms and strings.
This tradition has been going on long enough that the cart is showing its signs of use, and a team that keeps the flame going has one of the most unique rituals on campus. Aarav Agrawal ’27, a new member of the team, noted that the experience is something “pretty interesting that makes you wonder why it came about.” The captains are entrusted with maintaining the spirit and also transferring the tradition to the juniors and underclassmen.
The definitive origin of the cart has been lost, but what is generally clear is that it came about sometime around the 2010 school year. The most popular theory for the cart’s origin is that it was stolen from the parking lot of Star Market just down Randolph Ave in Lower Mills. Another common explanation is that the cart was found on the sidewalk in East Milton, possibly belonging to someone else before ending up with the cross country team. The murky origin story reinforces the allure of this mystery cart that gets pushed around every Friday since before many of the students on campus were born.
During the first week the “cart run” has only new runners behind the cart, a tradition that builds a fellowship between the freshman members and the returning team. Anyone on campus could agree that the tradition builds team bonding, but Daniyal Mian ’28 would rather emphasize that “[the cart run] builds excitement throughout the week, culminating in meets on Saturdays, but Fridays are especially important.” The practice is designed to help get everyone feeling more cohesive and also shows off to the entire school across campus that they are all in the same boat—or cart. Boys’ Cross Country team captain Emmett Burghardt ’27 stressed the importance of the first cart run of the season, saying that “it sets the tone for the rest of the season and really for the following seasons.”
Nearly every sports team has some kind of tradition, and for most, that is team dinners on Friday nights at a day student host’s house. The purpose of team dinners is more oriented towards the social aspect of a team, and bringing everyone to one house absolutely accomplishes that. Girls’ Cross Country Captain Phoebe Quinn ’27 agrees that “team dinners rank above [the cart run],” given that Girls’ Cross Country does not participate with the boys. But among the boys' team, the opinion is reversed. Will Frazier ’28 argues, “cart run is our most prestigious tradition,” and there is more to it than just creating a socially cohesive team.
Milton has no shortage of traditions; they are plastered across nearly every page of the website. Curiously, the cart run is not even mentioned once. Among the Nobles’ days and pep rallies, team dinners and trips, the cart run is almost the only one that has been totally student-organized. No other student-organized tradition has been nearly as successful over the course of 15 years as the cart run.