Imagine going to a competition running from dusk to midnight, your knees and hips sore and aching after playing for hours on end. This is the feeling the marching band experiences every Saturday during the month of October.

October is a month commonly referred to as “Bandtober” because of the intense and long hours of football games and competitions every Friday and Saturday.

“Between class, morning and after school rehearsals and individual practice, the hours added up fast,” clarinet section leader, Edie Flunker said. “I was putting in around 30 hours a week. I was exhausted.”

The practice schedule during this intense competition month consists of up to eight hours before and after school, about one hour of practice a day outside of school and 30 minutes of practice during the actual band class.

“I barely talk to my family, and when I do see them I don’t have time to talk.” Flunker said. “I was always busy doing homework or practice and had no time to do anything else.”

Students like cymbal player, Jonathan Tucker have to deal with the problems of multitasking two interests like cross country along with doing band in October, which can put a lot of stress on them.

“I have to make up my cross country runs on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” Tucker said, “so I have to wake up at 4:45 a.m. and then go to rehearsal. It sucks.”

Tucker said that not only can band and other electives conflict, but also keeping up with school can be a major struggle during Bandtober.

“I’ve had no time to study,” he said. “I’ve been behind on homework a lot, so I basically spend the entirety of Sunday just doing homework for the next week.”

Though Bandtober is a lot of work, Flunker said that it can be a fun experience being around people who have similar interests to you.

“You’re working on something that is bigger than yourself, and you make a lot of connections within your section,” she said. “I miss it now that it’s over.”