TEAM USA FOR WORLD XC here

very disappointing.

"The mens team led by Michael Spence"...

I'm curious to see how jordan hasay will run in the jr womens race. Unfortunately that my be the highlight for the USA

This may be the worse senior mens team that we have sent to World XC!!!!!!!

the don wrote:

very disappointing.

"The mens team led by Michael Spence"...

Michael Spence smoked Abdi. Would you be disappointed if Abdi was leading the team? This is a great opportunity for Spence and I hope he surprises all you pvssies again with a solid performance.

Screw Ritz and the other guys who bailed. I'm sure this is old, but i just don't respect them anymore. Ritz, Culp, Goucher and Torres lost a fan here, and I hope I'm not the only one.

hey, this is our country's representatives. If you're on the team and reading this, know that atleast this anonymous poster from CA is cheering you on, and hopes the best for you. run well, and enjoy the experience of reppin your country in international competition. the haters who mock you are jealous b/c they can't race themselves. i wish i could've raced at the US 12k champs, but didn't get the opportunity. i hope to make a run for it next year though. run well, run strong, and dream big!

One could almost make a case for Ritz, Culpepper, Goucher, Jorge - shouldn't go (a case I don't and won't agree with) but why would Carney and Eduardo not go? That makes no sense to me whatsoever. Do they have big marathons coming up? Bigger plans? That to me is a joke. And an example of being misguided.

Can anyone clarify that the US is not sending a full men's team?

I saw on the USATF home page 9 athletes could be sent. Does that mean 9 is a full team? How many run? Maybe I'm wrong as there are only 6 on the women's side.

So the question is 1) what is the most # the US can send men and women

2) How many score?

steeple runner wrote:

Screw Ritz and the other guys who bailed. I'm sure this is old, but i just don't respect them anymore. Ritz, Culp, Goucher and Torres lost a fan here, and I hope I'm not the only one.

I have to put myself in their shoes and think about the risks of traveling to Kenya and then ask myself the question, is it worth it? Is it? There's a lot of grey area there and I'm not sure I disagree with their decisions. If I was in there shoes, it certainly wouldn't have been an easy decision for me. I don't think they deserve all the sh!t they are getting on this board for making the decisions they have.

Good for Michael Spence but bad for the USA team. A good runner beat an injured/sub par great runner in abdi. A solid performance from Spence will do nothing at world xc.

KnowItAll wrote:

steeple runner wrote:

Screw Ritz and the other guys who bailed. I'm sure this is old, but i just don't respect them anymore. Ritz, Culp, Goucher and Torres lost a fan here, and I hope I'm not the only one.

I have to put myself in their shoes and think about the risks of traveling to Kenya and then ask myself the question, is it worth it? Is it? There's a lot of grey area there and I'm not sure I disagree with their decisions. If I was in there shoes, it certainly wouldn't have been an easy decision for me. I don't think they deserve all the sh!t they are getting on this board for making the decisions they have.

If they were not interested in going to Kenya, they shouldn't have competed at the NATIONAL QUALIFYING MEET. First off, since each athlete has a decision to go or not go AFTER the race they should then NOT be eligible for the prize money associated with those spots. The prize money should be awarded to the athletes who have to dedicate their time/money/energy to train and travel across the world. USATF needs to do something about this problem, and it is a problem.

My question to you KnowItAll, since you were so kind to these athletes decision and believe they are being wrongly accused - do you think they knew the race was in Kenya before they decided to compete for at the National Championships, a qualifying race to determine the team for the World Championships? Or did they just find out afterward that the race was in Kenya?

I am also surprised Carney and Ed aren't going. They've never represented the US before (correct me if I'm wrong but I tried to look it up) and for most guys that is a huge deal. This isn't some BS meet international meet, this is the world champs.

Goucher, Culp and Jorge indicated beforehand they probably wouldn't go but I was surprised by Ritz as XC is his best event.

And it's not a full team on the men's side for the first time I can remember.

I'lll try and figure out tomorrow why they're not sending a full team. If USATF just figures too many guys turned it down it's not worth the money, I'm sure people at lestrun.com will fund the 9th guy.

I think its a horrible precedent if this is the case. So are we going to quit sending a team to the Worlds Marathon since the top guys turn that down too?. I guess the top guys backed the US into this by turning it down unless there is some rule that USATF can't send the 16th guy at nationals.

Hell Abdi at 21 would go for sure as he's from Mombasa and could lead the US team.

Not to mention a guy like Travis Laird who is next on the list if Bret Schoolmeester isn't going (as someone said on here) I think would probably swim over there to get the chance to represent the US.

I think it's still a National Championship in your own backyard and I'd be SHOCKED if they didn't compete, even if they knew there was no chance of them going to World's.

There's no world's for 8k, right? So if the 8k National Championship is in your home town and you have a good shot at getting on the podium, do you pass that up?!? Fug no! I feel the same way about XC Nats. If it's a world's qualifier, that's just gravy. But you don't pass up a national championship in your home town when you have shot at the podium.

For Someone like me who eats, sleeps, and breathes Running. Much like many of us do, this years world team really struck a nerve not only with me but probably all on the Nation\'s running population. Not to take away from the guys that bust their ass to make it to Worlds, but this is just wrong. I look at the list and think to myself ok I know Shay and Celedino. Gabrielson looks familiar. The other three never heard of them. Really the USATF has to say if you commit to run USA\'s you also commit to run Worlds and if they back out they should be barred from competing from in the next years championships.

The propaganda say only 4 leading the team. Bullshit. The whole gravy train is going too, Masback, Roe, Estes, Finke, etc. plus chapperones, doctors, message therapists, media officer, photographer, flash quotes taker, team manager. I'M GREEN WITH ENVY.

Rather disappointed wrote:

For Someone like me who eats, sleeps, and breathes Running. Much like many of us do, this years world team really struck a nerve not only with me but probably all on the Nation's running population. Not to take away from the guys that bust their ass to make it to Worlds, but this is just wrong. I look at the list and think to myself ok I know Shay and Celedino. Gabrielson looks familiar. The other three never heard of them. Really the USATF has to say if you commit to run USA's you also commit to run Worlds and if they back out they should be barred from competing from in the next years championships.

That rule is completely worthless. Then you have some runner that has an injury and can't go to World's and he's banned from next year's event? Yeah, that's justice. Why don't people realize that this isn't only a world's qualifier, but also a national championship. That's a big motivation for people, as I stated in a previous message. Pretend world's doesn't exist. If there was a national championship in your hometown and you had a chance at winning it, would you run it? If you say no, you're lying. So, what did you expect from Ritz, Culp, Jorge and Gouch? They're going to run XC National Championships in Boulder. With the exception of Ritz, I think they were very up-front about not going to Worlds.

What difference would it have made, if Gouch, Jorge and Culp just hadn't shown up? It would have made XC Nats lame, and it wouldn't have changed anything about World's. What is the positive outcome here? You want to make XC Nats lame? Is that your goal?

Maybe they shouldn't shoot for the Olympics either. We wouldn't want to make it "lame" either. The bottom line is that if they are the best the US has to offer, they should represent the team. It is lame to be afraid of competing...uh, I mean malaria. Gee, I wonder why American distance running has gone downhill. Best of luck to the guys who actually have the guts to try.

jordan hasay versus tirunesh dibabas little sister genzabe dibaba could be a great rivalry for the next 10-15 years.

Heard from someone who is going to Kenya prior to the Boulder race that the men might go with less than 9 if anyone turned down the spot... so it was possibly predetermined. Could have had to do with money. The flights are outrageously expensive. Don't know if that was the primary reason but it was mentioned.