Hocker got 2nd at NXN his senior year which would indicate that the field at NXN is even tougher because an Olympic Champion couldn't win his senior year.
Hocker got 2nd at NXN his senior year which would indicate that the field at NXN is even tougher because an Olympic Champion couldn't win his senior year.
These arguments don't work at the level of individual cases. There are also many examples of runners who finished higher at NXN than at Foot Locker (e.g., this year: Robert Mechura 10th NXN vs. 15th FL, last year Cameron Todd 2nd NXN vs. 8th FL).
Footlocker would be done if Nike didn't hold NXN on a swamp course. You either fall for the Nike marketing or choose to run a watered down race in a warm weather location.
Footlocker needs to add at least 20 at large bids to each race to make it legitimate again. Take the ten qualifiers from each region and then offer spots to the top finishers from NXN or NXR meets.
Not sure if the Balboa Park course could handle sixty runners per race since it already looks pretty tight.
I'm also hearing the course this year might have changed somewhere between 1.5-2 mile mark. That would explain the extremely slow second mile splits in both races. Does anyone have any Garmin or Strava data to confirm?
You do know the CIF-SDS holds their championships there don't you? And they do have more than 60 runners on that course. Plenty of room. And for every year there has been a complaint about Morley Field, there has been about 100 for any course they have used in Oregon.
So is it safe to say nobody will ever break Ruben Reina’s course record, either due to NXN and/or Balboa will never be the same course that it was when Reina did the CR?
Nobody in SDS likes Balboa Park. Its forced on coaches by a bunch of old crumagedens stuck in the 1970s who still believe girls should run 2.5 vs 3 miles. It's a bad ole boys club. Plenty of championship level options but kids be damned. Force them to run through gopher holes and exposed roots. Then hop over curbs multiple times. It's an S show that won't change until some coaches age out.
So is it safe to say nobody will ever break Ruben Reina’s course record, either due to NXN and/or Balboa will never be the same course that it was when Reina did the CR?
The Balboa Park course is much longer and in worse shape than when Reina set the course record. It's not unbreakable but you'd have to be a Dathan Ritzenhein level runner having the best race of your life to have a shot at breaking it.
Yesterday's race felt like a death rattle. Watered down fields, the same objectively bad course at Balboa park seemed even seedier and dustier than usual, gaudy HOKA signs looming and few fans running around. Production was poor- glitchy cameras and audio, ugly split time scorebugs etc.
The regional meets, at least here in the MW, have become essentially B Meets or chances for guys to double up on national qualifiers. The pomp and circumstance from the 90s-2010s of the meets seems to be all but gone.
Financially, I wonder how much longer it makes sense to run this meet. It is storied and historical, but the golden days seem to be gone.
Thoughts?
Glory days are gone. No point in denying. The most outstanding national champions are the NXN ones.
NXN regionals are either earlier or on the same day as FL ones, giving them an advantage. Once you get a national qually out of the way, don't have to worry.
I think XC nationals is meant to include teams. XC is a 300 person race through the mud, not a 40 person race in the sun. I get that footlocker highlights individuals, but I feel like the ambitious idea to start a national championships in 1979 probably limited them to 8 per region. Though I don't know the history, I'm not sure that was the intent from the gun.
I'd really like to go back to the days of one national championship. I feel like it was so much more special to be crowned that way.
Footlocker started in 1979 and was the sole national championship for the next 25 years.
In 2004, Nike started the team national championship.
In 2006, Nike added a second race for individuals but not many top people participated because Nike did not pay any expenses for them, only for the teams.
In 2008, Nike thought they could bury Footlocker by changing the format to include both teams and qualifying individuals, paying the expenses for all. They assumed they could simply give the runners more "stuff" and get them to all go to Portland rather than San Diego.
Sixteen years later, Footlocker is still going strong.
Nike failed at destroying Footlocker. But they succeeded at destroying a true national championship in cross country.
This is a great take on the NXN effect on Foot Locker, and HS XC nationals in general
Yesterday's race felt like a death rattle. Watered down fields, the same objectively bad course at Balboa park seemed even seedier and dustier than usual, gaudy HOKA signs looming and few fans running around. Production was poor- glitchy cameras and audio, ugly split time scorebugs etc.
The regional meets, at least here in the MW, have become essentially B Meets or chances for guys to double up on national qualifiers. The pomp and circumstance from the 90s-2010s of the meets seems to be all but gone.
Financially, I wonder how much longer it makes sense to run this meet. It is storied and historical, but the golden days seem to be gone.
Thoughts?
Enjoyed the race and hope it continues. I disagree with most of your negative comments.
Footlocker started in 1979 and was the sole national championship for the next 25 years.
In 2004, Nike started the team national championship.
In 2006, Nike added a second race for individuals but not many top people participated because Nike did not pay any expenses for them, only for the teams.
In 2008, Nike thought they could bury Footlocker by changing the format to include both teams and qualifying individuals, paying the expenses for all. They assumed they could simply give the runners more "stuff" and get them to all go to Portland rather than San Diego.
Sixteen years later, Footlocker is still going strong.
Nike failed at destroying Footlocker. But they succeeded at destroying a true national championship in cross country.
This is a great take on the NXN effect on Foot Locker, and HS XC nationals in general
Another strange piece of this puzzle0 is that Foot Locker is a retail store. Nike is a manufacturer.
Foot Locker sells (lots of) Nike merchandise, so there is an ongoing business relationship between Nike sales and Foot Locker buying.
Even if there is acrimony at the boots on the ground level, one would think a compriomise could be reached at a sr executive level via the ongoing business relationship.
Sadly, I just don't think anyone really cares much. Both races are successful anyway.
Any chance the California kids go to NXN because of contractual obligations with Nike as a result of an NIL deal or because they are in the elite project ?
Any chance the California kids go to NXN because of contractual obligations with Nike as a result of an NIL deal or because they are in the elite project ?
Mostly they go to nxn, because it's easier. You qualify automatically via the CA State meet merge, and then just go run NXN the next week.
If you miss out on NXN at the State meet, you can go run the Foot Locker West qualifier instead the next week. (Same day as NXN)
Very few kids would turn down NXN to run FL West. God forbid you have a bad day and then have no national race.
Chiara Dailey chose FL this year over NXN, but had a great reason. She is from San Diego, so much easier for family and friends to attend.
She did qualify at FL West, but unfortunately was ill and dnf'd at the FL final.
Any chance the California kids go to NXN because of contractual obligations with Nike as a result of an NIL deal or because they are in the elite project ?
No, the California kids that went to NXN don't have Nike deals.
Footlocker started in 1979 and was the sole national championship for the next 25 years.
In 2004, Nike started the team national championship.
In 2006, Nike added a second race for individuals but not many top people participated because Nike did not pay any expenses for them, only for the teams.
In 2008, Nike thought they could bury Footlocker by changing the format to include both teams and qualifying individuals, paying the expenses for all. They assumed they could simply give the runners more "stuff" and get them to all go to Portland rather than San Diego.
Sixteen years later, Footlocker is still going strong.
Nike failed at destroying Footlocker. But they succeeded at destroying a true national championship in cross country.