Dathan Ritzenhein's decision to not go to the World Cross Country Championships is merely the latest in a long line of "no-shows" from the U.S. Year after year, people qualify for the World Cross team at the U.S. Nationals but decide not to go. I think it is too bad that a race that is in theory the most competitive distance race on the planet - and that is, after all, a WORLD championship - is one that has little appeal to Americans. (In fact, it seems to have little appeal in North America, South America, Australia, and many European and Asian countries, so it's not as though the U.S. is the only country whose best distance runners skip the World Cross.)
In this non-Olympic, non-(outdoor) World Track & Field Championship year, there are three world championships: World Indoor, World Cross, and World 1/2 marathon. I can see someone preferring to choose between World Indoor and the World Cross, but deciding to skip everything altogether means that these events aren't important to those who choose not to run. Instead of having the opportunity to race the best in the world - with no rabbits, no track surface or paved road, just grass, hills, and at times some barriers to hurdle and mud to traverse - the best U.S. distance runners routinely bypass the World Cross Country Championships.
I'm more disappointed with what Ritz's decision reflects about the loss of prestige of this world championship than I am about his not being there...