I see this petition is at least a couple of years old. Is it something LetsRun would get behind? What about XC?
Americans thought Michael Phelps the star of Beijing 2008 because he won more medals even when the entire world was crowning Usain Bolt the undisputed king of the Olympics. I'm not suggesting every event have a relay like swimming, but why not allow for team medals for marathon to at least give other countries something to root for? Cycling does so much better maximising exposure for all it's codes & disciplines.