Why are British people obsessed with mud and awful weather for XC?

So, to get it straight, you can deduce the mentality of the British people from an article in the media - and deduce an imperialist mentality from a desire for balance in the face of TV-centric courses and the obsession with commercialising the sport by extending to the southern hemisphere. Jeez. Only an American projecting their narrow perspective on the world could think that. Yes, irony alert. You guys are aware that XC has been muted for the winter Olympics? Jeez again.

WRONG. I actually live in the UK.

I guess thats it. We already have road racing indoor and outdoor track, XC should be different right? I mean if XC is run a perfect golf course why not just use the roads instead? Make it over hill and dale!

There is a very good reason most of the world cannot stand Americans.

Mate, the quote that you pulled from the article explains exactly Hutchins' opinion. As he says, he thinks XC should ask different questions of a runner than the track. The other things you say, like being able to handle heat, applies to track as well, but mud is unique to XC. You can disagree with that, but his reasoning is clear and I agree with it - if Dragonfly's are a good choice of footwear for an XC course, then it's not real XC.

There is a historical dimension to it as well. British XC in the early days (and even now) was literally running across the countryside. No special courses, just marked out routes across fields that would otherwise be used for grazing livestock, or heathland for people just going out for a walk. British XC just makes use of common land. People will be out walking dogs on it the day before a race - sometimes even during a race for regular league fixtures.

Also, Kenyans at least agree, to the point where they'll create mud traps on the course, see:

worldathletics.org

Kwemoi and Chelangat crowned Kenyan cross-country champions | REPORT | World Athletics

Uneven terrain, a 50-metre-long water and mud section, tough competition and a new winner in the men’s race all characterised the Kenyan Cross Country Championships in Nairobi on Saturday (13).

Link:worldathletics.org/news/report/kenya-c...

Finally, the UK is sending one senior man. Zak Mahamed was entered, maybe he withdrew. But yes, it is shameful that the UK isn't sending a full team (same goes for Spain, Germany, Italy, and France who aren't sending any senior men or women)

Just the west coast

Correct answer as we are always correct.

The point doesn't require you to be American, does it.

Britain, where the quality of their food and beauty of their women lead them to build the greatest navy in the world.

They could wait to leave, but then want to turn everywhere British

It's not just tradition. Hilly muddy twisty courses produce different results to golf coursy ones- it's part of the sport. Anyone who has run club XC in the UK can tell you that certain individuals tend to place higher on challenging courses. Many XC courses in the US might just as well be on the track - it's hardly even XC.

Yes but it’s not ruled by them anymore.

Went home devastated. Keep up.

We raced a course that had a stream crossing and insane hills. I believe St Albans had an team from Britain that year (exchange students) and they enjoyed the course since it was more realistic.

Why are Americans obsessed with running xc on a perfectly measured 5k/8k/10k course with golf course grass? Not to mention more concerned about their time than place. Just run on a track at that point instead.

Americas are too focused on fast times rather than a different type of running and basically XC is track on grass rather than running across the the countryside.

The last XC Uk race I ran was 4.3 miles and had over 200ft evaluation and placed for the club, and we had a lot of mud and water to run through and dodge the cows and goats!

Mud and awful weather is all what they have on the British Island.
That's the only thing you can get obsessed about.

If you can show me a single article written by an American complaining about the World XC course I will retire this thread. Not to mention, the USA is sending full teams to Bathurst.

That's unfair. We also have a crumbling healthcare system, a decade of incompetent governments, an economy permanently on the brink of recession, and the 1500m world champion

That's "mooted," dear.

And they are absolutely correct. If you're not fighting the elements in some form during a XC race then you're just running a road race. What, are you afraid of getting your feet wet? Are you that insecure about your times that a little mud is a no no for you? Maybe you're just not made for this sport. It's ok, stick to the comfort of the track, we both know you need that bounce anyway.