USA Elite runners PLEASE go to 2010 Word X-Country Championships!

"Our" top runners? VIPAM are you a US citizen? I thought you were Ethiopain or something?

Anyway, I would LOVE to see the best of the US go to world xc! We have the depth, we are seeing the top rise. Maybe Ritz can nag away at a few of those guys and get them to go. 2010 is the year to do it, too.

Not gonna happen. US runners these days are specialized.

Hall for Marathons. Teg for track. Alan Culpepper for anything inside US borders (well... he's retired now).

Ritz is an anomaly. He has done it all. Most importantly - he doesn't duck the top competitors like some other runners out there...

Our Intl team competitions are often like this: The top one or two guys are competitive and the rest of B or C level runners. Who the hell are we gonna beat with this bullshite?

And world XC...well Mombasa should be all you need to know. That race was ultra competitive and our runners ducked. This is why I like German Fernandez. If he has proven one thing to us: he doesn't duck competition.

Yes I am a US citizen, my mother is American/my father was African and I was born in U.S.A. Absolutely 2010 is the perfect year to have such a team effort and the BEST chance for U.S. to make a impact as a team with both the men and women's squad!!!!

It would be difficult but definitely the best chance for U.S. first ever team Gold.

Her name is Deena Kastor, she's only been married for 6 years..

Do these us runners just get paided to train. These guys like Teg are pros, no. How many races did they run this season compared to Bekele. Is it cause they are too slow and cant get into races or are they just pussies.

what about

Mebrahtom Keflezighi

Abdi Abdirahman

Schott Bauhs

Ed Moran

Jorge Torres

German Fernandez

Tim Nelson

Lopez Lomong

Jenny Barringer

Molly Huddle

Lisa Koll

Jen Rhines

Blake Russell

Emily Brown

Christine Wruth

Amy Hastings

in addition to the previously named athletes and some I know I forgot- A team Gold medal is possible. Man that would be awesome and a powerful springboard towards the 2012 Olympics.

vipam, how are the men going to silver against kenya and ethiopia?

Nah, we can't have our best runners compete in World Cross next year. It will "interfere" with their training & preparation, plus the time lost to traveling, etc. That's why we always field a "B" team.

Outside of people like Bekele or Dibaba, most run World Cross Country for free. It ends up being about personal satisfaction, which is why the US doesn't often send its best possible team. I think the US men and women could contend for team medals behind Kenya and Ethiopia if all the top men and women were fit and committed. But because time is irrelevant and the nature of the event is so much simpler compared to track, there isn't nearly as much money in it so it's not often a good financial choice.

rubber duck wrote:

...It will "interfere" with their training & preparation...

Preparation for what? Stanford?

Barrack!?! Is that you?

VIPAM wrote:

Yes I am a US citizen, my mother is American/my father was African and I was born in U.S.A.

I am with you 100% on this one.

2010 is really the best chance for us to field an A team. I'm glad Ritz and AlSal are leading the charge. "If you want to be the best you've got to race the best." Or something like that...

If our best runners targeted the World X-Country Championship they secure spots at the U.S X-Country trials off that training alone. Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritz, Bernard Lagat, and Matt Teg have shown they can compete and beat the world best maybe besides Kenensia and Tedese. If they were to target the X-Country Championships then we would only need a FIFTH man in which I'm positive we have one other runner capable of a top 25 finish. Yes I think if those runners trained for targeted the X-Country Championships they could all place very well (top 25) and 2-3 in top 10!

It's a long shot but yes its possible our best runners could challenge Kenya and Ethiopia team for Gold!

alberto salazar and ritz have both said the plan is for ritz to run world xc in march 2010.

actually we only need 4 as each team is allowed to have 6 runners, but only the top 4 on each team score, of course it is much better to run all 6 as 1 or 2 usually do poor.

I'm glad to see Ritz making it his focus. Perhaps he will drag others along. Should be favorable conditions (not too hot or muggy) and a welcoming atmosphere in Poland and an American has not been in the top ten on the long course since when, Todd Williams? Ritz will be right there, and can run a damn solid 10k at Mt. Sac or Stanford coming off of it. Then gear up toward the fall marathon.

You guys are all smoking Albertosol if you think a US A team can compete with Ethiopia, Kenya, Iritrea, Qatar, Uganda.

Ignore VIPAM. WXC is optional. WXC is a minor race. The top races are the Olys, IAAF Outdoor WC, Marathon Majors. WXC is not a primo event. I would skip WXC 2010 Poland. It's too dangerous travelling to a 3rd World, former Communist country, full of crime, poverty, and wretched people. Same with Mombasa and Amman. I would take other, safer, better races, with the best appearance fees, in the U.S./Europe/Asia.

Best Offer wrote:

Ignore VIPAM. WXC is optional. WXC is a minor race. The top races are the Olys, IAAF Outdoor WC, Marathon Majors. WXC is not a primo event. I would skip WXC 2010 Poland. It's too dangerous travelling to a 3rd World, former Communist country, full of crime, poverty, and wretched people. Same with Mombasa and Amman. I would take other, safer, better races, with the best appearance fees, in the U.S./Europe/Asia.

I think the fact American runners consider WXC optional is why we suck. Tadese and Bekele don't seem to mind WXC and I think they and the rest of the distance running world view it as a serious championship. How did Bekele kick ass in March over and over and then kick our ass on the track. Its cause they are not scared to compete against the best anywhere. The fear of Mombasa was shameful and thats why we lose all the time.

Of course it's optional. Guess how much money you get for finishing ninth? $0. It makes sense for Bekele because he shows up, runs at 90% for 35 minutes and wins $60k. The hordes of Africans that are running don't have contracts like the top Americans so vying for the lesser places makes financial sense. For US runners, a winter track or road season makes more sense, or skipping the winter all together if it doesn't fit with the summer plan. Deena is the only top American who has really had a legitimate reason aside from personal satisfaction to run in recent years.

world xc is the hardest distance race to win, harder than the olympics, world track championships, marathon majors etc.