World XC Delivers, Records in Houston, Rojo's $500 Marathon Bet + Cooper's Flag Moment
LetsRun.com's Track Talk: The Home of Running and Track and FieldEpisode Notes
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World Cross Country returned to American soil for the first time in 32 years and Tallahassee delivered! We break down Jacob Kiplimo's dominant third title, Agnes Ngetich's historic 42-second victory margin, and why American men continue to struggle at World XC despite track success. Plus: The Cooper Lutkenhaus flag moment, Rojo's $500 marathon bet.
In Houston Habtom Samuel's debut was as success, 59:01 (course record), as four Americans broke 60 minutes (Alex Maier (59:23), Casey Clinger (59:34), Ryan Ford (59:48), Isai Rodriguez (59:57)), Rory Linkletter got the Canadian record (59:49), Taylor Roe became the 2nd fastest American ever (66.20) and American Zouhair Talbi ran 2:05:45.
Astacked Millrose two-mile field featuring Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr, Grant Fisher, (Wightman, Beamish, Strand, Blanks, Wolfe).
Plus, Andreas Almgren amd Brenda Jepchumba impressed in Valencia.
Links:
- World Cross Country 2026 Coverage
-
LetsRun Forum Thread: Why Are Americans Competitive on Track but Get Destroyed at World XC?
- Cooper Lutkenhause gets LetsRun Flag
- Houston Half Marathon coverage
- Shop the World XC Shirts: shop.letsrun.com
Show notes:
- 00:00 Start
- 00:24 World Cross Country Recap & Tallahassee Celebration
- 05:20 The Let's Run Meetup & Craig Virgin's Hope
- 06:23 Cooper Lutkenhaus & The Let's Run Flag Story
- 09:04 Athletes & Fans Unite at World Cross
- 13:02 The $500 Bet & Party Stories
- 15:18 Jacob Kiplimo & Agnes Ngetich Dominate
- 17:45 Kiplimo's Legacy & All-Time Greatness
- 21:20 Why Americans Struggle at World Cross
- 25:15 US Men's Disappointing Team Performance
- 28:36 Track vs Cross Country: Differe
