The Real XC

The Internet's Home for the History of Cross-Country Running.

[therealxc]

Stars, Stripes, and Mud.

For nearly 60 years the United States has participated in the International Cross Country Championships. In addition to measuring success by medals and podium finishes, we’re embarking on a journey featuring the threads of past and present.

https://medium.com/@Real_XC/stars-stripes-and-mud-a3aa00e210c9

[therealxc]

“An All-In Affair” 2020 PanAm XC

Read the full story of the 2020 PanAm Cross Country Cup, from inception to culmination! Featuring photos by Joseph Camilleri, Carlos Clemente, Rita Gary, and Andrew Hutchinson.

https://medium.com/@Real_XC/an-all-in-affair-f30a4172439a

[therealxc]

Interview with “Athletics Illustrated”

Should cross-country be in the Winter Olympic Games? Why not? https://athleticsillustrated.com/the-andrew-hutchinson-interview/

[therealxc]

Cross Country in the Winter Olympics?

This is our bid to see XC inducted as a sport on the Winter Olympic Program. 

https://youtu.be/K_tNoATLUjE

[therealxc]

Childhood’s End

Read about how for the first time in 30 years, the UK and USA will not be facing off in an international dual meet--an occasion that falls on the 100th anniversary of their first meeting.

https://medium.com/@Real_XC/childhoods-end-d5e78ccca2e8

[therealxc]

Prefontaine’s Final Cross-Country Race

It's rare to uncover an event regarding Steve Prefontaine that has not been investigated in great detail, but I share with you here a day where he was at his physical peak... racing an absurd distance (7.5 miles) cross-country... with barriers... top competition from a variety of age-groups... and a nuanced lesson about the importance of the sport. Only in cross-country...

✓ Never-before-seen photos of Steve Prefontaine's final XC Race

✓ Never-before heard first-person accounts from the event

✓ Fastest prep harrier team from 1974 in attendance

✓ Fastest JuCo harrier team from 1974 in attendance

✓ 13 year-old barrier-breaking female phenom with an inaugural girl's state meet

✓ Legendary History with an Epic Story

...all in the same race on the same day 45 years ago. Read it on Medium here:

Prefontaine's Final Cross-Country Race

[therealxc]

Cross Country Running - The Anthology Chapter 7: 2019

The seventh installment of Cross-Country Running The Anthology features Prefontaine, Lindgren, Zatopek, NCAA, NXN, Great Stirling 2019, World XC and more!

tinyurl.com/XC-Ant-07th

[therealxc]

Cross-Country Running Returning to Paris Olympics in 2024?

The latest update about this development can be found in the article “Citius, Altius, Fortius, Conatus” which has direct correspondence with Jakob Larsen of the Danish Athletic Federation and IAAF council.

Read about it all here: https://medium.com/@Real_XC/citius-altius-fortius-conatus-2ea19fc58f3b

[therealxc]

Podcast Interview - Running Technique Tips

Lisa, at Running Technique Tips (based out of Australia) took some time to interview Andrew Boyd Hutchinson. 

Full interview featured here: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-5and6-b01208

[therealxc]

Podcast Interview on the Hour of History!

Steven Baumann, lead producer of the “Hour of History” podcast, interviewed author Andrew Boyd Hutchinson on the subject of the origin of the sport, it’s place in the modern day, and pertinent developments related to cross-country being in the Olympic Games!

Interview here: https://www.hourofhistory.com/the-complete-history-of-cross-country-running-with-andrew-hutchinson-hoh-podcast-ep-71/

[therealxc]

If You Build It, They Will Come | Tracksmith Journal

It was a celebration of cross-country running 200 years in the making, and the end result just might resuscitate a sport that was on the verge of being lost.

https://journal.tracksmith.com/if-you-build-it-they-will-come

[therealxc]

Team USA at World XC

An epic tribute!

“On Judgement Day, We Won’t Fade Away... Team USA!”

https://youtu.be/PQG-Iv5JCFU

[therealxc]

Inside Track and Field’s Momentous High-Fashion Resurgence

Historically, running tends to spike in popularity during times of social upheaval. Article by Maura Brannigan on January 7, 2019.

Read the Article Here

[therealxc]

An Uphill Course, latest article!

Cross-country running is one of the oldest athletic disciplines on the planet, but many people don’t understand the rich history of the sport nor see the difficulties it currently faces. This piece will try to explain the tenuous status of the sport and its attempts to soar again, and why reaching a “new” global audience with Olympic inclusion will be an even bigger challenge, despite its lovability.

Read More:

https://medium.com/@Real_XC/an-uphill-course-eb999cb17ebb

[therealxc]

New Book Review by the IAAF

Featured in “New Studies in Athletics”, a quarterly journal produced by the IAAF, “The Complete History of Cross-Country Running” has another praise-worthy review. Thanks to Jürgen Schiffer for the effort!

Can be read here: http://www.therealxc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Pages-from-NSA-1-2.17-1.finale.pdf

[therealxc]

No Room For Mediocrity - a profile on Dr. Joe Vigil

For most people, history is one of those subjects that never “sticks.” Other people find it fascinating or practical outside the classroom, where they follow a hunch or anecdote into the past and uncover something insightful. And for a chosen few, history fills and informs their life’s work. This article is about one of those people: a man who not only asked the dangerous question of “why?” but pursued answers obsessively until he mastered them, a man who wanted to know how the human body could become unstoppable and how to bring it to a new level of performance on some of the world’s biggest stages.

Read the full article here: https://life.spartan.com/post/profile-joe-vigil

[therealxc]

New Cross-Country Course Maps for Sale from Owen Delaney Art

Now for sale at: https://www.owendelaney.art/realxc-prints

Prints are available for the following courses:

Parliament Hill, London

Wimbledon Common, London

Holyrood Park, Edinburgh

Van Cortlandt Park, New York

Mt. SAC, California

Crystal Springs, California

Each print is size A4 and sells for £20.00 GBP each or £100.00 for all six.