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

Did he get teased about his last name?

how old was he when he lost his virginity?

-asking for a friend

12 year olds eventually grow up. So will you.

I see that Gault had to dredge up the age thing again. Craig had to race 25 year old Brit Gordon Minty his freshmen year. On the other hand, Samson Kimobwa, Kenyan from Washington State who was 6 weeks younger than Craig, had to run against over-aged Americans. Was that fair? Lets not forget that Galen Rupp was both over-aged and a professional runner when he ran for the Ducks.

Or maybe we should just stop talking about age once and for all. How about it? Someone's older than you are. Deal with it.

Craig Virgin is amazing. I grew up with him, we are about the same age. It is still a travesty that we boycotted the 1980 Olympics, he was peak and at his prime and won the World Cross Country Championship that year and 81, and he crushed the best Africans including
Miruts Yifter. In that 10k race he would have come aways with nothing less than a silver Olympic medal. I was in high school when he broke Pre's 2 mile record in that astonishing 8:40 and there was a sports illustrated article comparing him to Secretariat. Only illness "kidney" issue and bad timing #jimmycarter, stopped him from being the greatest American distance runner. To this day only one American man, Craig Virgin, has ever won the individual World Cross Country Championships (twice in 1980 & 1981)!

great story about great runner, who also appears to be a great person

I’m glad that another athlete other than Seb Coe that was impactful at the world level spoke out in favor of XC in the winter Olympics.

When it’s mentioned to those that don’t want it the trite response is something like “you need snow or ice.” Put snow on the course - problem solved.

We have to boycott until Kenya is banned because of drug use 🙄

If all this works out, can we get breakdancing at the World XC Championships?

There's a point where this '80s stuff gets tiresome.

Congratulations on his great career, but times have changed.

Nobody is forcing you to read it. Don't like it? Move on.

I think Virgin could have a pulled a Lasse Viren long sprint on Yifter in Moscow 1980 and would have had great chance of gold as he was at the peak of his powers as you say. When you look at Rodgers in the Marathon, Paige in the 800m, Scott in the 1500m, Centrowitz Sr in the 5000m, and Marsh (who set a national record in the Trials that year) in the steeple chase, then the US team had a very good chance of sweeping all of the Men's distance races Moscow. I think Carter meant well but it resulted in a lost opportunity in Moscow; look at the Miracle on Ice in the Winter Games that year.

So don't read or offer any other opinions that are different from Craig Virgin?

I said he had a great career, and nothing changes that, but that things are different from the '80s. Do you disagree with that?

You people who believe that there is a reality where Virgin would have beaten Yifter in Moscow in any scenario are living in fantasyland.