WHY ISN"T GALEN RUPP RACING WORLD XC CHAMPIONSHIPS??!!

unimportant wrote:

His goal is to win medals at global championships. He raced world indoors last year (Poland) and in 2012 in Turkey (an olympic year so no BS about how winter racing or global travel would impair his world champs prep). World XC is as prestigious if not more so than world indoors.

Brojos, Flotrack or any other running journalists who read this, please ask Rupp at Millrose why he does not plan to participate in world XC (also ask the other 5k runners if they are running world xc too please).

I was actually planning on asking Rupp this at Millrose. I like what Chris Derrick said recently to Athletics Weekly:

“I think the athletes, myself, other top Americans and Europeans need to make a commitment to show up and do it. If we’re not going to commit to it, the fans aren’t going to commit to it. I hope that top Americans and top Europeans will continue to do or come back to doing cross country."

To me, World XC could become the greatest race on Earth -- if the top pros commit to it. If everyone agrees, "I'll come to this race in peak shape trying to win," winning World XC will be on the same level -- or even surpass -- winning gold at the World Championships. Right now, it's not. I doubt many people even remember who won gold at the last World XC (it was Japhet Korir).

Is it feasible for an athlete to peak once in March and then again in August? I think it is. If not, switch World XC to even-numbered years. One year you have the Olympics, but another year you have nothing. World XC would be the biggest race in the world every four years.

I suspect I know what Rupp will answer -- that his focus this year is on the World Championships in August. So I guess I should ask a follow-up as to how one interferes with the other. But I will do my best to remember to ask!

The top USA men never run World Cross unless it's held in the US. Wimps

Prepare yourself for the Rupp certified jokes

World Cross serves no purpose for any top ranked runner. Its done and interrupting training to travel in March to compete in it isn't a goal that helps a 10,000 meter runner who need to be working on specific training to be in 3:52 mile shape before they can handle the workouts in April and May to run 13:00 and 27:00.

I don't know. To me the pros need to race. There's no schedule races, professionals would rather practice than race. It's like watching NFL pre season practice but never having a game. Fans want to watch races.

Think about it. FloTrack documents practices. Because no one is racing!!! Golf, NASCAR, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Soccer, Tennis, you name it... They compete!

We have no cups, or trophies or schedules. Pros would rather train than race. Then when they do they jog and kick because no one wants to race. It's all very sad.

Rupp says: "Rupp don't do no travel: kids."

Author: George Atlas

Message: World Cross serves no purpose for any top ranked runner. Its done and interrupting training to travel in March to compete in it isn't a goal that helps a 10,000 meter runner who need to be working on specific training to be in 3:52 mile shape before they can handle the workouts in April and May to run 13:00 and 27:00.

That is a much longer excuse that typically posted by Rupp fans.

Salazar has mentioned this before, he said something along the lines of "the terrain is uneven and he doesn't want Rupp to get hurt"

George Atlas wrote:

World Cross serves no purpose for any top ranked runner. Its done and interrupting training to travel in March to compete in it isn't a goal that helps a 10,000 meter runner who need to be working on specific training to be in 3:52 mile shape before they can handle the workouts in April and May to run 13:00 and 27:00.

Right, that is what Tergat always said ... wait, umm...he only had silver medals, so do you consider him "top-ranked"? And only at four Championships.

Would you consider Mourhit top-ranked? He is 7th all-time in the 3k and was 8th all-time in the 5k?

I mean it worked that way for Ngugi, or no it wasn't him ...

It was William Sigei and Ismael Kirui ... maybe not them they were just WJR holders.

I am thinking of Khalid Skah ... not ... he only set one WR and only won one Oly Gold (but he also had a WC Bronze) ...

Was it Lopes I was thinking of? I know he only won a silver in the 10k and a Gold in the marathon. He was pretty good at XC though. I think he also was 2nd all-time in the 10k and ran an OR in the marathon. He was not a 3:52 miler so maybe to you he doesn't cut it?

His 2:09:21 OR only lasted for 24 years. Oh, he DID set a WR in the marathon, but that was not in the summer.

You said they have to "handle the workouts in April and May to run 13:00 and 27:00" in late August or September ... makes sense to me.

Maybe I am thinking of that Bekele guy (not Bekele Debele, but the other one) I think running the WCCC always worked out pretty good for him, but he was able to run 45 secs faster than what you are saying.

So, it worked for EVERY medalist for the last 40 years, so 120 guys (I won't give the examples for the women - did any women ever run that race and go on to do anything in the 5k/10k?) for the last 40 years.

I can see how TODAY'S runners could screw it up though ... they are a strange lot ... I have seen them on Flotrack.

Post of the day. Rupp needs to get in there and beat on some Africans.

There no Olys for XC. XC is not an IAAF major. So no big deal.

Sorry ... William Sigei was also a WR holder, and the second one under 27:00. He only won two WCCC titles though.

You could add Salah Hissou to the list. He only medaled three times in the race, but it likely helped him to set the WR at 10k ... and win gold and bronze medals.

Moses Tanui would be a good example too. Gold and Silver medalist at the WC at 10k, also third fastest marathoner of all-time. Would he count?

Paul Kipkoech too, he never ran 27:00, but he was a three time WCCC medalist in the sport that you say doesn't help and then was WC at 10k. Pretty good!

Craig Virgin was WCCC champion twice ... so it should have hurt him twice as much, yet he was able to be 2nd all-time in the 10k (27:29.16).

Tim Hutchings only finished 4th in the Oly 5k, but he was preparing for that with the WCCC (and two silver medals) every year. Maybe that is why he was only 3rd at Europeans and Commonwealths in the 5k?

More recently, there are Zersenay Tadesse and Sileshi Sihine, but they only won two medals and 6 medals respectively in global champ meets on the track in the 5k/10k ... would they even count to you?

What about Imane Merga? 2011 bronze medalist in the 10k? He won WCCC in the same year as his track medal.

What about Moses Mosop? 2005 bronze medalist in the 10k? He won the silver at WCCC in the 2007.

What about Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam? He won gold, silver and bronze at WCCC over 6 years. But that only prepared him to run 12:52 and 26:52. He was only 4th in the Olympic 5k in 2004 (look up who won those medals). That probably hurt him?

How about Vincent Chepkok? Medalist at the WCCC and 7:30/12:51 on the track. Does that sound like it worked out for him?

loving every laugh wrote:

Rupp needs to get in there and beat on some Africans.

Oh, we all know that elfie rupp would rather beat off some Africans.

No travel wrote:

Rupp says: "Rupp don't do no travel: kids."

Salazar always ran World Cross back in the day, kids or no kids. Pat Porter always ran it too. All our top guys used to do it. What happened?

Jonathan Gault wrote:

I suspect I know what Rupp will answer -- that his focus this year is on the World Championships in August. So I guess I should ask a follow-up as to how one interferes with the other. But I will do my best to remember to ask!

Jonothan Gault:

2011 NYC 1/2 Marathon and 2011 Outdoor champs were 23 weeks apart.

World Indoors (in Turkey so 10 hours ahead) and the Olympics were 21 weeks apart in 2012.

This year there are 21 weeks between World XC (in China so 8 hours behind) and World Outdoors.

Please ask Rupp about world XC, how it will interfere with his training and write down these statistics about what he has done in the past.

Are you saying that the world XC Championship isn´t the greatest race on earth just because it lack American runners?

Rupp is like a Formula 1 race car. Sleek and fast, but not rugged and durable. F1 cars don't do the Baja 1000 off-road race, and Rupp doesn't do cross country!

George Atlas wrote:

World Cross serves no purpose for any top ranked runner. Its done and interrupting training to travel in March to compete in it isn't a goal that helps a 10,000 meter runner who need to be working on specific training to be in 3:52 mile shape before they can handle the workouts in April and May to run 13:00 and 27:00.

Actually go back (way back) and look at all the XC Champs who then won World and Olympic Medals:

Lopes and Ngugi among them.

I think, with the Kenyan doping scandal, and if Europeans and Americans would listen to Derick you'd see more of this.

You's also see the event become popular like it once was.

Back in the 70's it was considered the best race on the planet- Rogers, Walker, marathoners to milers, ran it.

I want that back.

XC is a dying sport throughout the world. Here in the UK it was at one time taken for granted that all middle and long distance runners would race over the country in winter. No longer - and can it be coincidence that standards especially at 5K & 10K have never been lower (Farah apart, obviously)?

As regards the world champs, is it dying because of constant African domination? Over here the BBC used to show live coverage of the race every year; now they have dropped it from the schedules and focus on the European champs held in December over a shorter course in which UK athletes usually do very well. Meaningless race, truth be told, but at least the BBC can show UK winning medals so everyone is happy ; UK Athletics, the BBC,(because British success boosts viewing figures regardless of the competition,)the government who can say lottery funding is having beneficial effects etc., etc.

It used to be the case that the senior race at the World XC champs was THE hardest race to win because every distance runner competed in that one race instead of splitting into 3 or 4 different races as at a major games. Looks like those days are gone now - alas!