> ABOLISH THE 4K CROSS COUNTRY!!!
>
> That is my request. The experiment has been a failure. I would guess that
the IAAF's idea was to bring in the mile stars, >such as Morceli and El
Guerrouj, to the harrier season. It hasn't worked. I also suspect they were
hoping it would break >Kenya's strangelhold on the team competition. That
too has not happened.
>
> All it has succeeded in doing is watering down the event. The great thing
about cross country is (was) that everyone, from >800 runners to marathoners
squares off in one race. 10K or 12K is too long for milers? Tell that to
John Walker, Rod >Dixon, and Wildfred Kirochi, all top-3 World Cross
finishers and 1500 Olympic or World Champs medalists.
I agree that it hasn't had the effect of bringing in most of the mile stars,
but I'm not convinced that it has really watered down the 12k that much on
the men's side. I don't know much about the money that's available both at
worlds and in leadup 4K races, but unless it's significant, that is a simple
reason why it hasn't worked. Times have changed, and not only are runners
specializing more, but the best of the best have significant fincial
opportunities that they don't want to risk.
Personally, I mourn the fact that distance runners are less willing than
they were 20 years ago to run cross country and also less willing to run all
the distances from 800m or 1500m to 10,000m. It was heartening to see Geb
run World Indoor 1500m a few years ago, but with increased competition and
financial opportunities has come less willingness to run events other than
the specialty. For a 5K specialist not to run 2 or 3 10K's in a season
seems weird to me. I can't argue with the results that someone like Bob
Kennedy has had by skipping 10K's and running very few 1500's and little
cross country. But I can't argue with the results of the guys who ran
everything in the past, either.
On the women's side, I think the 4K/8K combination has resulted in watered
down fields to some extent, but only because the distances are much closer
and it is much more likely for someone to easily choose either one.
Personally, I'd like to see the women running the full 12K instead of the
8K - it will likely happen somewhere down the line.
I think the jury is still out on the 4K race. It hasn't had the intended
positive effects, but I don't think the negatives have bene that great
either. With or without the 4K, I doubt we will ever again see a world
cross where many of the top marathoners square off against many of the top
milers. It's too bad.
- Ed Parrot
