I liked the atmosphere and team aspect of XC, but as a mid-distance guy I hated the 8k races. Post college I have actually pr'd in a few events, and my racing season is from late December to early June. Its so much nicer slowly building my mileage in the summer and fall rather than stacking huge weeks up by the end of the summer. I don't think I even hit over 50 mpw in the summer, when I had to get fit for XC I would peak at 70-80 mpw. I also feel like I come into indoor so much more fit because I do not need to do a post XC reset like I would normally do in college and start my build up all over again.