2-time world xc champ Craig Virgin talks about XC.... And we listen.

Repeat again?

IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT IF YOU'RE A WORLD CLASS DISTANCE RUNNER AND YOU'VE NEVER COMPETED IN A PROFESSIONAL CROSS COUNTRY RACE/SEASON, YOU HAVEN'T CHECKED ALL THE BOXES TO BE A TRUE WORLD CLASS RUNNER. IT TRULY IS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!

After following XC on this board for more than 10 years, I think only the biggest Virgin fans would give him the gold medal or even a medal at Moscow. The shifter was just too good and his kick made him Kryptonite to CV. I believe he would have gotten 4th like his idol Prefontaine got in Munich.

I'm of the same era as Craig, so I followed his career in real time. Somehow he never seemed to get the attention as Pre or Shorter or Salazar, to name a few, but his World XC championships deserve the same stature as an Olympic or WC gold. You can't knock his victories without knocking Viren's or Shorter's wins, or Pre's whole career.

As Craig points out, World XCs used to get the best runners in the world, from 5k to marathon, and that was the fun of it.

As great as his career was, I sure wish we'd have seen what it would have been with better health. That being said, he was never going to outkick Yifter - at any time, any distance.

That XC is no longer as popular is, as others have noted, all about the money, but I sure think something has been lost. Not sure having it be in the winter Olympics is the solution, though.

As for Craig, never met him, but I get the sense a little of him goes a long way.

1979 Montreal World Cup 10k, Virgin led most of race, surging, dropping everyone except Yifter, broke 28 minutes, but out kicked by Yifter. Moscow would have been similar.

World xc men dropped from 12k to 10k a decade or so ago.

Craig is one of a handful of Illinois greats that shows up at the State XC and Track Championships every year. He is quick to congratulate both individuals and teams. Simply put, he is the best ambassador for the sport I have ever known. He will speak with anyone about the sport, not just fellow international talents from his day. Any of the negative comments about him are simply not true. If only our sport had more like him it might be a bigger draw than it currently is.

Had an opportunity to meet Craig Virgin in 1981 when he stopped at the TAC (AAU) Cross Country National Championship in St Louis. Such a nice guy, and so cool at age 15 to meet a guy who was already a legend and fresh off some big world XC wins. Sad I lost my autographed picture of him. He was a huge inspiration to me. Runners in that era were different though. Most cross country courses were pretty tough, lots of hills, nothing paved, spikes required, and you ran no matter the weather. Seems like the big guys raced a lot more too.

Viren destroyed Yifter in 1972 by attacking from 600m out. Yifter had his vulnerabilities.

There was certainly doping going on back then, too. There's a guy who goes around claiming to be Virgin's training partner who many here know to have confessed to doping to the internet 30 years ago.

Actually thats not true. Most WXC courses were flat, as in completely flat. They were held at Hippodromes (horse racing). Mainly to provide a spectating venue.

I was at that meet. It was about 90 degrees, no exaggeration, and my dad and I were badly sunburned after that meet. Virgy beat old man Centrowitz by 15 seconds and had that race won after the first 50 yards. I ran districts on that Prospect track and there were a lot of better tracks in the area. Don't really know how anyone can down vote Malmo's post.

No, Centrowitz was second about 8:56.

VIRGIN!! Why on earth would you not legally change that last name?

It's a rip-off of the title Runner's World editor Joe Henderson gave my Craig Virgin interview in the March 1973 RW page 37 "Exploring Virgin Ground". That was a cheesy title then and a cheesy title when that book came out.

Craig told me in January 1973 that he intended to break Pre's HS 2M record. That seemed like a newsworthy boast and my article ended with that boast but Joe Henderson edited that out of the article. And the reason???

He should have aimed for Lindgren’s 8:40 absolute HS record, run in an 11 lap / mile track. Too, the IPI track did not have a curb and Virgin ran right on the line.

Craig was in MUCH better shape in 1980. He comfortably won the US Olympic trials in a similar time to the winning time in Moscow so he would have obviously had a few extra gears to go to if was pushed. If Craig applied consistent pressure from the last mile of the race then Yifter would have most likely been in a full blown Lasse Viren 1972 situation and would have no afterburners to fire up on the last lap with Craig winning in around 27 mins 30. To reinforce this point, Yifter was almost 40 seconds behind Craig in the 1981 World Cross country champs which is a very big gap at that level.

Virgin would have been 5th at best in MOSCOW, if he made it out of the preliminary round. The heats and final were run on hot breezy days and Virgin would have to have been 8 seconds in front of the first four with 400 meters to go to medal. The race was run at an erratic pace and five were still in it with a lap to go. His 27:29 in PARIS was run on a cool, calm evening, nothing like the OLYMPIC final. Virgin might have been in it until 9600 meters, but then it would have been Montreal '79 all over again. The first four would run 55 sec or better and Virgin might have hit 60 or so. Perhaps fifth, maybe sixth.

I just remember the few guys I knew that were competitors at that level said Craig was pretty high on himself back in those days. But for the most part... he was even better than they were... and they were pretty darn good themselves. So there is that.