The Weakly: Cross country's glow-up + the pros and cons of organized races

This week we look at how Bandit wowed their way into the Olympics, consider living in the cross country boom, and then I recommend using influencers to solve injury, and I talk about racing.

Big Q: Is trail running just cross country?

We’re hearing from every direction that we’re Currently In The Midst Of A Trail Running BOOM, but what’s the difference between trail running and cross country?

Here are the Wikipedia definitions:

Trail running is a type of running that takes place on outdoor trails, often in mountainous terrain, and often includes significant ascents and descents.

Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass.

Do you have to be in education to run XC? Do you have to have a podcast to be a trail runner? Is cross country not good for selling equipment for? Or is it simply a matter of distance? Is cross country used for shorter distances? If so, is there a moment where it turns into trail running? Why not maintain standards and call them middle-distance and long-distance, like in other track categories? What gives?

What if we’re actually in a cross country boom!? Have your sa…