The Lumberjacks compete in the Big Sky Conference at the Division I level in the NCAA and are head coached by Mike Smith.

Many of the team's runners compete in the Olympic Games, with alumni representing a total of 11 nations since the program's foundation.

[5] The team has been consistently ranked in the top 3 of the USTFCCCA national coach's poll since the start of the 2016 season.

The women's team was a national runner's up at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship in 2023 by 1 point behind North Carolina State.

The book chronicles the start of the Lumberjacks men's cross country dynasty as well as the team's connection to the Flagstaff community.