What Should We Call the "Team Race" in Edinburgh Next Week?

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised about the small-mindedness of the proposal. Ritz, Rupp, and Farah have never backed down from racing the Africans. Moreover, American distance running is on the upswing. What's undoubtedly true, though, is that in Europe there are almost no world-class long distance runners. Presumably, the intent of the Edinburgh race is to make a first step toward remedying that. Now, perhaps this is not the best means of doing so, but the intent is an admirable one and should be lauded instead of being subject to ridicule.

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wejo wrote:

The "team" race in Edinburgh that Rupp, Ritz, and Mo Farah are running next week is designed to exclude African runners.

Earlier in the week we were calling it the "JV" race but some pointed out that the non-team race is a different distance so to call it a JV race may be technical incorrect.

So we're open to ideas.

"JV race", "B" race, any more ideas?

You can even cast a vote for "team race" but I don't think it will win out.

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Completely agree. Ritz could very well win World Cross, why he doesn't do that instead of running marathons is beyond me. Especially since he claims to want to win medals.

he would have to get over "the blisters" in order to "very well win World Cross" ... then he would also have to "show up" to "very well win World Cross".

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My take on it wrote:

Completely agree. Ritz could very well win World Cross, why he doesn't do that instead of running marathons is beyond me. Especially since he claims to want to win medals.

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Are Ritz, Rupp, and Farah being "forced" to race the team 8k challenge through financial incentives? Or are the meet director(s) simply blocking them from entrance into the 4k?

I believe it is proven that all three are willing to tango with the Africans: Farah trains in Kenya; Rupp and Ritz have shown a willingness to put themselves in play.

Not to sound like a homer, but I see no way the Americans lose this team 8k challenge. I am not against Europe trying to bolster xc, but getting slapped around by the Americans proves what? To me, grass root movements like dyestat, LRC, and flotrack contribute more in the long-run to growth in xc/t&f. Not phony "challenges" which create an illusion of competition.

With all due respect, I think you should stop trying to piss all over it. Some of our best runners are going overseas to compete as a team in an international cross country race -- something I think we'd all like to see more of. Why not get behind the concept, support the idea and stir up some excitement among the lestrun faithful?

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wejo wrote:

The "team" race in Edinburgh that Rupp, Ritz, and Mo Farah are running next week is designed to exclude African runners.

Earlier in the week we were calling it the "JV" race but some pointed out that the non-team race is a different distance so to call it a JV race may be technical incorrect.

So we're open to ideas.

"JV race", "B" race, any more ideas?

You can even cast a vote for "team race" but I don't think it will win out.

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Any physical ailment which may plague him over 12k, will be an even bigger problem over a marathon. I do think he is one of the two best cross country runners on the planet on a good day (Kenny B is the best), but he doesn't seem to want to do anything with that gift.

The only "team race" that matters is World Cross. Until then, I either want to see Americans race the Africans in what is easily their strongest race or I don't care.

Call it the 8k race, because that's what it is.


If a track meet has a 5k and a 10k, and the 5k has a stronger field, does that mean everyone who runs the 10k is in a "JV race" or a "B race?"

There are two distances being offered at this cross country meet. One is a 4k. The other is an 8k. Rupp and Ritz have elected to run in the 8k. If there was a team component in the 4k, would they run that? Perhaps. Who knows? They're not running the 4k, they're doing the other event. It could be because 4k might require a little more sharpness than either runner will have then, it could be because of the team thing, it could be because Salazar doesn't want them racing 4k, it could even (horror of horrors!) be about MONEY (which, considering they're professional distance runners, shouldn't be so scandalous). Regardless of why they're doing it, the race Ritz and Rupp are running should be called the 8k. The other race should be called the 4k, because that's what he is.

Neither runner, to wit, has ever "dodged" African competition before. Ritz ran against all comers in the Belfast XC race he won a few years ago, and since then has taken on anyone who shows up in any race he's entered. He won the Healthy Kidney 10k against a pretty good field, he ran the two-mile at Pre in 07 against runners he knew would probably toast him, he ran with courage and toughness at Beijing to finish in the top 10 of an Olympic marathon, ran with the leaders until he blew up at London, and was 6th in the world over 10,000m in 2009. I think he had a pretty good late season 5k against some African runners as well. . .

Rupp, for all the jokes about Rupp-certification, has not shied away from competition either. While in college, he took on some African runners to set an AR for 5000i, and afterward, went under the old record in a losing effort to Lagat (and did Rupp just sit back? No, when the pace lagged, he went to the front and pushed). While in college, he ran in an Olympic Games, running near his PR and finishing faster than any American had run at the Games, and in a World Championships, finishing off a long and stellar year. Last year, in his first year as a pro, he PR'd at 3k, 5k, and 10k (and maybe the mile? Not sure off the top of my head). For all the hemming and hawing over the 10k AR attempt, it was Rupp who pushed the pace the latter half of the race. Let's not forget that Rupp did break the old AR, while of course giving credit to Solinsky's incredible run.

Sorry they don't live up to your standards, Wejo, but I think both of these runners have a pretty good record when it comes to racing the best in the world. I don't think electing to race an 8k over racing a 4k makes them JV runners or participants in a JV race.

The word "irrelevant" comes to mind.

Doesn't matter, they need to be racing against Africans. The RD shouldn't have made this so called "team challenge" because its a whole load of crap and should just pay them to race against the f***ing Africans.

It seems easy to me, take a page from southern drinking fountains and call it the "white" race and the "black" race. Just because they let Mo Farah run the "white" race doesn't mean that it not a race division essentially based on ethnic groups.