Foot Locker Watered Down This Year

Nike Employee? wrote:

I see it’s time for the NXN trolls are back. I remember when NXN started they said footlocker would be nonexistent by now. How’d that work out for you?

And talk about watered down. NXN is awful.

There are trolls on both sides. Same arguments every year from the anti-FL and anti-NXN crowds. Very few of us that can acknowledge the greatness of both events.

I've had individuals at both (and a couple of teams as well). Zero complaints of either event. Both were first-class experiences for the athletes. Regarding gear, it was a similar amount at both events, but Nike follows each state's regulations regarding how much gear an athlete can keep. FL, not so much, plus they allowed the athletes to pilfer the extra gear. Not a criticism of either, just the facts.

Years ago when there was a relationship between FL and NXN, Nike asked FL to combine events and continue calling it the Foot Locker National Championships. FL declined, wanting to keep their long-standing format. Nike moved forward with adding individuals to the earlier team-only format. Again, nothing wrong with either idea.

In the end, both events attract top individual talent.

Whether you like nxn or not you cannot deny it has the elite athletes this year. The guys with the best shot at winning footlocker like Kilrea, Jacobs, and Tatters could possibly not even crack the top 5 of NXN. I’m not saying that is a good thing I like footlocker but it is not nearly as comptetitive even compared to last year.

Been to both wrote:

NXN Gear wrote:

Warmup jacket

Warmup sweatpants

Singlet

Shorts/half tights

Arm sleeves

Socks

Spikes

Trainers

Backpack

Not sure of the individual prices for each item, but it comes out to about $600 for everything, not the $800+ the other guy was saying.

Footlocker definitely supplies at least as much gear as this, probably even more. My guess is if you're saying the gear is what is making the difference for athletes choosing NXN>FLN, you're not looking very closely at the gear. Or maybe you're comparing FLN gear from years past when they were with Asics. The gear package athletes got from NB last year was unbelievable.

Can you elaborate on what was so “unbelievable” about the FL package

Disgusting person wrote:

watered down race wrote:

Easy to repeat when the comp goes to another race.

She knows where Touhy will be, let's see if she is up to the challenge.

You come on here every year trash talking the people who don't go to Nike.

If Footlocker Nationals is so easy, why did Touhy chicken out huh huh huh. So much for your theory.

Um, Touhy made the first move, now it is up to Lane to either follow or avoid. The ball is in her court.

As far as the south goes, where I'm located at (go NC! Woot woot!) The people winning our FLQ races are our state champions, and nationally ranked as well. For example: John Tatter won the seeded boys race, is ranked 20 on the Flo50. So for those down south, the people winning are household names for the high school XC kids, making him the third NC runner to do it ever, so I can see why they may not be super well known from outside NC.

NXN talent wrote:

Whether you like nxn or not you cannot deny it has the elite athletes this year. The guys with the best shot at winning footlocker like Kilrea, Jacobs, and Tatters could possibly not even crack the top 5 of NXN. I’m not saying that is a good thing I like footlocker but it is not nearly as comptetitive even compared to last year.

Kilrea is running nxn also and probably will crack the top 5??

NXN > FLN wrote:

NXN, thanks to the team aspect, at least looks like a proper cross country race at the start. Plus it's not on some SoCal golf course.

You have that backwards. NXN is on a golf course and FL is on a cross country course in Balboa Park which includes twice up a very steep hill. FL is a better course for spectator viewing (I've been to both) and has been rain free every year. Compare that to Portland where the weather is typically cold and damp.

Strength runners like Casey Clinger do better at muddy NXN, while the miler types (recent winners Reed Brown, Drew Hunter and Grant Fisher as examples ) are better suited to FL.

NXN is usually "Watered Down" wrote:

NXN > FLN wrote:

NXN, thanks to the team aspect, at least looks like a proper cross country race at the start. Plus it's not on some SoCal golf course.

You have that backwards. NXN is on a golf course and FL is on a cross country course in Balboa Park which includes twice up a very steep hill. FL is a better course for spectator viewing (I've been to both) and has been rain free every year. Compare that to Portland where the weather is typically cold and damp.

Strength runners like Casey Clinger do better at muddy NXN, while the miler types (recent winners Reed Brown, Drew Hunter and Grant Fisher as examples ) are better suited to FL.

Drew and Grant would have won anywhere

NXN is usually "Watered Down" wrote:

NXN > FLN wrote:

NXN, thanks to the team aspect, at least looks like a proper cross country race at the start. Plus it's not on some SoCal golf course.

You have that backwards. NXN is on a golf course and FL is on a cross country course in Balboa Park which includes twice up a very steep hill. FL is a better course for spectator viewing (I've been to both) and has been rain free every year. Compare that to Portland where the weather is typically cold and damp.

Strength runners like Casey Clinger do better at muddy NXN, while the miler types (recent winners Reed Brown, Drew Hunter and Grant Fisher as examples ) are better suited to FL.

I've been to both as well and disagree. Glendoveer has some hills and it's easy to watch much of the race. I'm a fan of both, but I do prefer XC courses that reward strength over speed. It's not a track meet.

Yikes, You think Balboa is an XC course? You must be from San Diego? They run around a pool twice, cross a street 6 times, that is a joke. It is a park that they run in. The NXN course is real XC, no street crossings, no lifeguards on duty, up and down like XC is meant to be, Much closer to the NCAA XC course (laverne gibson) in Terre Haute. You need to leave Cali. more.

and another HS coach who has had kids at both wrote:

Yikes, You think Balboa is an XC course? You must be from San Diego? They run around a pool twice, cross a street 6 times, that is a joke. It is a park that they run in. The NXN course is real XC, no street crossings, no lifeguards on duty, up and down like XC is meant to be, Much closer to the NCAA XC course (laverne gibson) in Terre Haute. You need to leave Cali. more.

I think you missed my point. I was defending Glendoveer. Hence the "I prefer a course that rewards strength over speed."

And I'm not from California.

another coach wrote:

and another HS coach who has had kids at both wrote:

Yikes, You think Balboa is an XC course? You must be from San Diego? They run around a pool twice, cross a street 6 times, that is a joke. It is a park that they run in. The NXN course is real XC, no street crossings, no lifeguards on duty, up and down like XC is meant to be, Much closer to the NCAA XC course (laverne gibson) in Terre Haute. You need to leave Cali. more.

I think you missed my point. I was defending Glendoveer. Hence the "I prefer a course that rewards strength over speed."

I think he was replying to the person you were replying to (who said "NXN is on a golf course, but FLN is on an XC course").

I haven't been to FLN before, but have watched the race's live feed a few times. From what I can tell, I think I'd prefer NXN's course more: both have some uphills and some downhills, both require some strategy to run well on, and both are challenging in their own ways, but the one thing NXN has going for it that FLN doesn't is that there are no street crossings and it's ALL on the grass.

Anyone discounting one course because it's on a golf course vs. a park is a little short sighted if you've been to both meets. It doesn't make it less challenging, or less like "true cross country", and between the two courses I'd actually argue the opposite (no street crossings, and not running alongside a street, etc.).

But that may be because Footlocker is after NXR, and athletes are worn out from great races at NXN.

For example, Tierney Wolfgram ran 16:48 to win the NXN Heartland regional, but ran nearly a minute slower at FL Midwest (still qualified, though).

From looking at past results, top 5 qualifiers at NXR races have been faster than the top 5 at Footlocker every single year. NXN is harder to qualify as an individual.

Really? The best from NXN have been individual qualifiers the past several years. Oakley, Rainsberger, Ostrander, Efraimson (her senior year) have all been individuals. Even by looking at the top 5 or even 10 runners at NXN, they usually qualify individually.

another coach wrote:

And I'm not from California.

Sorry, was not referring to you. Post was directed at the guy who calls Balboa Park a "cross country" course.

another coach wrote:

NXN is usually "Watered Down" wrote:

You have that backwards. NXN is on a golf course and FL is on a cross country course in Balboa Park which includes twice up a very steep hill. FL is a better course for spectator viewing (I've been to both) and has been rain free every year. Compare that to Portland where the weather is typically cold and damp.

Strength runners like Casey Clinger do better at muddy NXN, while the miler types (recent winners Reed Brown, Drew Hunter and Grant Fisher as examples ) are better suited to FL.

I've been to both as well and disagree. Glendoveer has some hills and it's easy to watch much of the race. I'm a fan of both, but I do prefer XC courses that reward strength over speed. It's not a track meet.

The year I was at NXN there was so much deep mud on Glendover golf course that, as a spectator, it was very difficult to move around to see the runners. But both courses have hills which I think is important in XC and I am a fan of both meets.

Our two athletes who ran FL and NXN both preferred FL, in part, because they got to go to the beach.

Claudia has the chance to be a 3x Footlocker national champion. I doubt she'd give up that chance just to give the crowd what they want.

That being said, I do think that NXN would be the fair place to declare a champion, since it's in a state unlike California or NY, where they both live.