As he enters his 17th season of coaching cross country in Gaston County, Forestview High School's John Hunsucker doesn't plan to do anything differently this season.

And why should he?

Hunsucker, who spent 14seasons at Ashbrook before moving to Forestview, has been the most successful cross country coach ever in Gaston County and one of the best in the state. He's won a slew of conference titles with runners who have been successful at the conference, regional and state levels.

"I really can't tell you how many titles we've won," said Hunsucker, whose teams have nabbed both county and conference championships the past two seasons at Forestview. "But I've had some lean years, too, especially at Ashbrook when we were in the Southwestern 4A Conference."

In addition to usually having one of the best teams in the area, Hunsucker also usually has one of the largest teams. This year he has more than 60 runners.

How does he get that many students to come out every afternoon day after day to train for a 3.1-mile race?

"I'm not so sure I motivate them as much as they motivate themselves," Hunsucker said. "They just have a good time."

One thing that helps his runners have a good time is the fact that Hunsucker, who always has his Canon EOS Rebel on hand, is usually photographing them.

"I started taking pictures my first year," Hunsucker said. "I take around 2,000 a year. I guess it's become my trademark."

Hunsucker, 43, takes his pictures, score sheets, training logs and other items and assembles a book each year for his runners, books that become a part of his runners' lives for years to come.

"Mark Brown started that at Ashbrook in 1986," Hunsucker recalled. "He looked at my mess of score sheets and said I needed to get everything together. The first books were in 1987. It started with a three-hole punch. They've grown into monsters now."

One thing that makes the books special is the fact that they are individualized for every runner.

"The thing about the books is that cross country is the only sport where everybody participates," Hunsucker said. "If you ran the meet, you're on the score sheet. So everyone gets a book."

What do the books mean to the runners?

"They always call them special," Hunsucker said. "I've had runners call me up years later to tell me how much they like their books. High school is a wonderful time. It's nice to have something to go back and remember it all by."

But Hunsucker says the books aren't just for the runners.

"Running is a lifelong sport," Hunsucker said. "Hopefully, this will give them something for their kids to look at. I'm mainly doing it for their kids, and grandkids."

So how long does Hunsucker plan on staying in the cross country publishing business?

"I enjoy it so much," he said. "It's become a passion. I don't see any end to it right now." Hunsucker