After watching Garrett Heath do the unthinkable on Saturday— beat Mo Farah to collect his third straight victory at Great Edinburgh— I scanned some of the top UK newspapers to get their reactions. With one of the country’s biggest stars taking a rare loss, I was intrigued as to how they covered this surprising defeat.What struck me most was not anything written on Mo, but instead a line pulled from The Guardian labeling Garrett Heath as a “cross country specialist.” While perhaps in reference to his accomplishments in their nation, that term doesn’t specifically define Heath. What needs defining is exactly what type of cross country specialist he is.Amid all the hoopla that followed Heath’s coronation as the rightful King of Edinburgh was a tweet that highlights the craziness of this trifecta.College was a while ago for Heath and he’s gotten loads better, but it’s been nothing short of stunning to watch a man not known for triumphant XC dominance here in the States do just that over in Europe, with each victory more improbable than the one before. It seemingly destroys convention.This magical three year run on the Scottish slopes just isn’t supported elsewhere on a lengthy XC résumé as one would expect.But Heath’s Edinburgh exploits highlight how wildly different Euro-cross is from the version we’re used to here in the U.S. Add hills and a whole bunch of mud, and power—the strength to maintain rhythm with slosh underfoot— becomes considerably more important than a 26:xx 10k PR.Last February at USA Cross, less than a month removed from conquering Edinburgh for the second time, Heath finished two minutes and thirty-seven seconds behind winner Chris Derrick as he limped in for 26th place. That was probably not completely indicative of his true ability, but regardless, he was a non-factor with the distance moved up to 12k and the comforts of a wet ’n muddy Scotland replaced with warm temps on the fairways of a golf course.A cross country specialist yes, but not on all accounts.Sure, he won Club Cross in December, but seeing him drag Mo Farah through the mud (and Bekele and Kiprop before that) on Saturday you would think this to be a man who has repeatedly wreaked XC havoc domestically. A Derrick or Dathan Ritzenhein-type that fits the traditional bill of an aerobic monster.But that’s not exactly Heath. This is a 1500/5k guy on the track who leans more to the 1500 side of things. Yes, he was fourth in the USA 5k in June, but in a tactical championship setting his 3:34 speed is more handy than his 13:16 strength. Not the prototype I would build to take down Mo Farah in a 8,000m race. But of course, this wasn’t just any 8k race.Clearly the difficulty of Holyrood Park is tailor-made for his particular skill set, as the mud-slinging and hilliness of the course values power much more than just plain endurance. For Heath, I wasn’t sold on this until he beat Farah, however, as I chalked up his two wins in the 4k race to him finding a distance that suited him well. That may be true as well, but after his beating of the distance running king in nearly five miles of sludge, it’s clear that Heath’s stamina on treacherous ground is not limited to 2.5 miles.While not built to win a fast 10k on flat terrain, his climbing ability in the muck just may be among the best in the world. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough races like this one for us to find out for sure. The World XC Championships haven’t hosted a short course race since 2006, which would be ideal for Heath if on a brutal plot. Imagine what he could do at icy Bydgoszcz, the site of Team USA’s improbable silver in 2013.Like Heath said, put him up against Farah in a 10k on the track and it’s not even close, but the added variables of cross country, particularly this type of cross country, pushes the odds in favor of a Minnesota kid who won two high school state titles in nordic skiing.His incredible streak at this race shows the stark difference between cross country and CROSS COUNTRY, with the rugged, intensified version requiring skills that don’t often show themselves in US-style cross.