if the usa sent the A team to xc?

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  • douglas burke
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 4:54am CDT
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    i know its a could have, should have, but didnt, just for fun.

    1. women usa juniors were 5th in the team standings, if hasay, babcock and chetelet, had run and if those 3 would have beat spence as would be expected then the usa could have finished 3rd.

    2. men usa juniors got 5th, that pretty much was our a team at least our top 3 runners, i dont think we have any other juniors who could have finished at least 23 places ahead of dupont to overtake uganda for 3rd, so 5th is right regardless of who we sent.

    3. usa senior women, got 5th with probably a c or d team, with runners like flanagan, goucher, barringer, begley i think they would have got 3rd.

    4. usa senior men got 8th, with ritz, rupp, teg, meb abdi etc. i could see them getting 4th or 5th. all just speculation and opinion, but this shows my opinion that besides kenya and ethiopia who are way ahead of us, usa distance running is very good.

    anyone else with an opinion on this?
  • fill me in
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 6:11am CDT
    re: douglas burke
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    Pretty good analysis. I think that the one thing that World Cross shows is that our Senior Men are the least competitive on a World Scale. I know that on this male dominated board there will be all kinds of excuses for this, but it is true.

    Most of these excuses will be to put down the other race competiition. We see these excuses anytime someone compares a female performance to a male performance.
  • slowmofo
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 10:52am CDT
    re: fill me in
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    Its a slap in the face to everyone who cares about American distances running and one reason why our sport is in trouble. So many American runners opting out of World XC is pathetic and shows how selfish our athletes are. Who wants to get into World XC when you send your C or D or Q team instead of the A squad. Its a joke and very selfish and disrespectful of ALL the top Americans distance runners.
  • twegwegwe
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 11:17am CDT
    re: slowmofo
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    if colby low was not sick i could see him right behind the first 3
  • PaavoNW
    registered
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 1:10pm CDT
    re: douglas burke
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    I really don't think Baracus and Murdock have the endurance for an XC race. They seem more like 800/1500 guys to me.
  • Irishguy
    registered
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 1:46pm CDT
    re: douglas burke
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    I know that we haven't really sent an "A" squad to XC World's in years, but that said I can't blame them for not wanting to travel to the Middle East for a relatively minor race (especially considering most are prepping for a spring major marathon). Not worth it.
  • PDubbs
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 2:50pm CDT
    re: slowmofo
    Forum Index
    slowmofo wrote:

    Its a slap in the face to everyone who cares about American distances running and one reason why our sport is in trouble. So many American runners opting out of World XC is pathetic and shows how selfish our athletes are. Who wants to get into World XC when you send your C or D or Q team instead of the A squad. Its a joke and very selfish and disrespectful of ALL the top Americans distance runners.

    You do understand that our top runners run to pay the bills right? Why should they turn down a huge paycheck from a spring marathon or some other road race to go run loops in the mid east? Do you pick up a paycheck when you go to work? As cool as it would be form a fan's standpoint, not running makes the most sense for their well being and you can't fault them for it.
  • douglas burke
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 3:03pm CDT
    re: Irishguy
    Forum Index
    Irishguy wrote:

    I know that we haven't really sent an "A" squad to XC World's in years, but that said I can't blame them for not wanting to travel to the Middle East for a relatively minor race (especially considering most are prepping for a spring major marathon). Not worth it.

    2 things, it is not a minor race, it is harder to win than the ollympics or world track championships.

    and it is great preparation for a marathon, yesterdays 3rd place finisher z. tadesse is running the london marathon and i think he will do well, yesterdays run wont hurt him. shami was 8th in 2007 at world xc in the heat of mombassa, then won his first marathon in 2:07, carlos lopes also ran great and won marathons and/or had fast times after running world xc, xc training is great preparation for a marathon.
  • The A Team
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 3:28pm CDT
    re: douglas burke
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    I pity the fool........
  • wiac fan
    10 years ago 03/29/2009 4:16pm CDT
    re: douglas burke
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    i can see marathon runner avoiding this race for a spring marathon- that i can understand. what i don't understand is track guys avoiding this. teg, nelson, solinsky, dobson, abdi, torres, rohatinsky and so on could be running this and its disappointing that they are not
  • BillZonk
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 3:49am CDT
    re: wiac fan
    Forum Index
    The US used to always take an A team. Then the A teams started not doing so hot and just quit the whole thing. As recently as eight years ago the US team had Meb and Abdi and Kennedy. The problem is they were finishing behind five African teams. When Qatar, Eritria and Uganda came on the scene the US A teams pretty much disbanded, along with the Spanish, Portuguese and British teams.
  • old enough to know better
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 6:44am CDT
    re: BillZonk
    Forum Index
    You are correc. I understand that the old timers get pissed off by this, but the playing field has changed. Craig virgin or Pat Porter never ran against a Senior team that was as good as the Kenyan and Ethiopian Junior teams of today.
  • some coked up brit
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 7:47am CDT
    re: douglas burke
    Forum Index
    2. men usa juniors got 5th, that pretty much was our a team at least our top 3 runners, i dont think we have any other juniors who could have finished at least 23 places ahead of dupont to overtake uganda for 3rd, so 5th is right regardless of who we sent.


    uuuuuuummmmm.... ever heard of Evan Jager?
  • American Distance Philosophy
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 8:19am CDT
    re: BillZonk
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    "When you can't beat em, duck em."
  • the don
    registered
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 10:18am CDT
    re: PaavoNW
    Forum Index
    But Face has a mean kick.
  • douglas burke
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 10:43am CDT
    re: some coked up brit
    Forum Index
    some coked up brit wrote:

    2. men usa juniors got 5th, that pretty much was our a team at least our top 3 runners, i dont think we have any other juniors who could have finished at least 23 places ahead of dupont to overtake uganda for 3rd, so 5th is right regardless of who we sent.


    uuuuuuummmmm.... ever heard of Evan Jager?

    evan jager is no longer a junior.
  • midwaste
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 10:57am CDT
    re: PaavoNW
    Forum Index
    PaavoNW wrote:

    I really don't think Baracus and Murdock have the endurance for an XC race. They seem more like 800/1500 guys to me.

    They would have built an armored vehicle out of a golf cart and then busted out of the team tent in the warm up area at the start of the race. A-team FTW.
  • K.I.T.
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 11:34am CDT
    re: douglas burke
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    There would've been one really sweet black van with red accents rolling through the streets of Amman, Jordan.
  • Course
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 5:16pm CDT
    re: douglas burke
    Forum Index
    douglas burke wrote:


    4. usa senior men got 8th, with ritz, rupp, teg, meb abdi etc.


    Take Rupp out, no way that course was Rupp certified.

    Would love to see a World Cross on home soil though, that might stimulate interest...
  • OU812?
    registered
    10 years ago 03/30/2009 8:15pm CDT
    re: Course
    Forum Index
    [/quote]

    Take Rupp out, no way that course was Rupp certified.

    [/quote]


    Easily the most hilarious post of the day. Thank you for sharing, Course. I love it when I get to read a post that makes me laugh so hard that tears run down my face.