Why is it that it is rare to see an XC race run slow, and then let it all come down to the kick, but for a race of similar distance on a track people just wait for the kick?
Why is it that it is rare to see an XC race run slow, and then let it all come down to the kick, but for a race of similar distance on a track people just wait for the kick?
easier to open up gaps in cross country. harder to draft because of wacky turns. More people in the race so more likely that someone will take the lead.
But really, sit and kick does happen once in a while in cross, just not as badly. If the weather is bad, xc can be sit and kick.
lots of reasons.
Most important, I think, is how many runners there are. All 100 runners aren't gonna sit and kick. Someone always pushes the pace. And they're not all at nearly the same level like on the track, so they spread out fairly quickly, and then pretty much everyone has a pacer, whoever's ahead of them.
Second, you don't have the option of going slow at the start. A cross country start is like being part of a herd of stampeding buffalo. You run just as fast as the other buffalo or you get trampled. After half a mile or so, when the herd thins out, then you can slow down, at which point, your kick is burned out already.
Third, the scoring doesn't care who comes in 1st. Get your scorers near the front, and it won't matter who outkicks them in the last 200 meters, they'll still get a great score and win. There can be only one individual champion, so most runners are there for the team competition.
Finally, cross country runners have more balls than track specialists. Everyone knows that.
This was actually an interesting question.
I think the mix of runners involved (800m guys, 1500m guys, etc all the way up) ensures that some of the poor kickers won't want it to come down to a kick so they push the pace.
I'm sure it's not a rule to go by, but I observed that the guys winning cross country were often the inferior kickers. This would even apply to Tergat vs Gebre. However, not so much of rule to go by if you consider Bekele...
Cross country is primal, track is formal.