Jakob runs XC, why doesn’t the top Americans runs xc?

“Afraid” is a strange word here. -Why would f.x Jakob run a random Worlds xc (f.x a hilly one) and place 50 or 60..? But that doesn’t mean that he sometimes later (better trained for a 10k) not could choose a WC xc, with a flat course, and be a medal contender. -Would be cool if so (maybe even winning; who knows)…

Well youngsters......Back in the day we used to run XC worlds and it was uphill the whole way, in the snow, with hay bales the size of elephants, and they wouldn't give us any water to drink unless we won!!

But actually, back in the day we had Craig Virgin who won the senior world title 2x, Pat Porter, who was a perennial top 10 at worlds, Dathan Ritzenhein was a very good jr racer finishing 2nd(?), and probably the best US team of all time was in 1983 with Pat Porter, Alberto Salazar, Thom Hunt, Ed Eyestone, and Craig Virgin....finishing 2nd to Ethiopia and beating Kenya.

It should be.

Are you Scandinavian?
I lived there for awhile and this post makes me think you are.
It's a good thing!

And meanwhile SO MANY the world's best run it: off the top of my head from Belfast 2024:

Cheptegei, Ingebrigtsen, Kiplimo, Aregawi on the men's side, Chebet and Giday on the women's.

Maybe not for Americans.

For world-beating runners from anywhere else, it is extremely important.

Cheptegei, Kiplimo, Aregawi, Chebet, Giday. All travelled to Belgrade for World XC, a race they found important in March 2024. (Much more important than chasing trivial times indoors.)

Strange comment, since these meets are so high-profile and the information is so easily accessible:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_World_Athletics_Cross_Country_Championships_%E2%80%93_Senior_men%27s_race

simple answer. americans are pussies. it's just another endurance discipline that the rest of the world would destroy them in.

The 1975 team came fourth and Bill Rodgers was third individually.

Maybe i'm delusional about American talent but I think a team of Fisher, Blanks, Teare, Young, Klecker, Mantz, and maybe Chelimo or someone else i'm forgetting could be a REALLY nasty team.

For someone who lives vicariously through others, you might find it important, but for those who are actually in the game, they get to choose what's important and in their own best interest. It's tough enough in a sport with little remuneration. There is none for pro-bono racing.

Personally, for me, running World Cross was important, but in the only opportunity I had (1981) I was injured with a bad tear of my plantar fascia, which would keep me at bay for the next 18 months. Not 100% for three years.

That was a huge breakthrough for Rodgers, "that marathon guy."

That was the first time I'd ever heard of him. When I got to Boston for the marathon I was seeing some locals picking him as one of the favorites based on that performance. The Worlds were a big year for English speakers, BR in third, five of the first seven men, two of the first four country placings, two of the first four junior men, women's individual champ, five of the first six junior team places.

I do not remember Bobby Thomas. Seems like he came and went about as fast as possible.

"Why doesn't the top Americans runs xc"?

1. If you're talking about your experience in 1981, you are living as vicariously as everyone else here. No need to be rude, man!

2. Your injury situation sounds unfortunate, and I'm sorry to hear it. Seems very different from healthy US runners passing up a global championship.

As others have said, in the 70's & 80's top Americans -- and runners from England, Australia, etc. - saw XC as an important part of their training and racing. Of course, then runners started earning a living by running, and XC became a distraction. It's a shame.

I dont think that you understand the meaning of vicarious.

Rude? Is that your "go-to" defensive mechanism. When you don't agree with someone you call them "rude"? Rude is being hostile towards athletes whom you have no vested interest in just because they don't want to run the events that you think they should.

Life would be a lot easier for you if you'd just sit back and enjoy these athletes and their amazing accomplishments for what they are.

I seem to be able to do that, without pointing fingers. You can to.

Jakob likes racing. A lot of the top us runners like winning medals and running fast and all that and they’re quite good at it, but Jakob just loves racing as much as he can. It’s one of the reasons it’s so easy to be a fan of him, he never turns down an opportunity to compete