trackcoach wrote:
The Kenyans and Ethiopians have never sent a B or C team, the USA is the country that does not take world cross serious.
Why should anyone take CC seriously, it's a contrived European pretense that golf courses and sheep pastures are somehow a natural surface.
If you run across real country you will generally be running through forests and fields of tall grass, hiking across rock-covered slopes and wading through rivers. Unless you cheat by using a man-made trail, it's almost impossible to run continuously for even one kilometer on natural terrain, with the exception of some desert areas.
A more honest cross country sport would be like orienteering. Take the athletes to point A, show them point B on a map, and first one to get there wins. They can choose their own route - through the forest? Over the mountain? Along the riverbank? Prove their overall skills at crossing terrain, with emphasis on speed rather than navigation.