Hocker I'm fine with if he is planning on going all in on world indoors. I don't see him as being great at 10k XC and I can see why the relay wouldn't be appealing.
Fisher is definitely a bummer though. Would have loved to see him compete, but I can see why they don't want to press early season after the appearant ramifications that grand slam had on the end of his outdoor season
I disagree on Hocker. I think he is likely the best American runner at 10k XC. Underestimate the world 5000m champion at your own risk. I don’t think he beats Aregawi or Kiplimo, but I certainly think he could have won USA’s and been the top American at World’s.
An… interesting take? How did you manage to deduce this?
Parker Wolfe and Ethan Strand ran NCAA XC last year, and wasn't it just a week or two later that they ran 7:30 for the 3K indoors? The examples of XC helping indoor and outdoor track success are endless. Too much overthinking by Fisher and Hocker.
And for those, like Grant, who are talking about a lack of incentives, I would argue that not everything is about the money, and that's all Grant is talking about. How about doing something that isn't just about yourself? How about joining a TEAM and working for a common goal to do something special that this country (his country) has not been able to do in over four decades: win a team medal. Nah, I guess not. It's all just business. Honestly, Hocker should get his ass out there and race, as well. Pretty weak on both their parts.
What are you talking about?
Has Fisher said he isn’t running this years US Cross to try and make the world cross team because of incentives? No he hasn’t. Has anyone asked him - No. Are people jumping to conclusions with lack of understanding - Yes.
He talked about timing and incentives around XC in the past. That was the past. The present is now. He has said many times how great an honor it is to represent the United States (which he does do very well). Sure it would be great if he ran XC but clearly he has his own reasons as does his coach.
He had a super long season. Clearly he was tuckered out in Japan. His coach said he is just getting back into training. Posters on here have no knowledge of Fishers and Hockers situation.
Show some respect for these two great US athletes.
It's a free country and obviously Fisher and Hocker get to do what they want, but as a fan of the sport this is lame. World Cross on home soil is way more interesting than anything else up for grabs on the track in 2026. There isn't even Olympics or Worlds. (Maybe the Ultimate event will turn out to be a good event, but I can't see how it's going to be better than XC for 5K/10K guys.
If it is Barcelona, that is over a month after world xc. How would running that race interrupt his preparations for a half marathon over 4 weeks later? If anything I would think that would be a great part of preparation, but that's just me. World indoors is at the end of March - how does a XC race the second week of Jan impact that in any way?
To be honest I really don't care if he does it or not (for many reasons), I just don't get why you wouldn't unless you had a target race within 2 weeks of it. It never crossed my mind for one second that he is a contender to win the race, but he could help the US team do well which is good for the event, given it's in the US and that's my "disappointment" ends. And to that point, it's not like it's far out of his way. It's a what, 5 hour flight including connections? 2 hour time change? He could fly in a day before the race if he wanted and leave the next morning.
Best guess for why it's not ideal:
1. You have to be in pretty good shape for the qualifying meet, which maybe he doesn't want to be with bigger goals/races in February/March. Our system is fair, but it's tougher for the stars that guys who are not slouches could put all their energy into a race in December. 2. You're probably going to have to skip indoors/ come in somewhat unprepared if you do it, to me it seems Grant likes running at Millrose and chasing a fast time at BU on top of that
While we can talk about how a domestic World Cross is a great opportunity for these guys, the best domestic meet in the eyes of all of the ones I've talked to is the Millrose Games. Could he do both? Yes I suppose, it's not out of the question but doing his usual indoor playbook and then tacking on the Barcelona Half seems an easier fit.
Makes sense. Outside these forums very few people actually care about cross country. It's even less relevant than the mickey mouse indoor season.
very true as of today.
times change, my coach did the indoor circuit as pole valuter way back in the day, and it was pretty popular
chat gpt says close to one billion people have used running as a favored exercise at some point, that 10 million people that have run some form of race, five hundred thousand high schoolers ran cross country last year in the usa. including 200,000 girls.
there is no argument that there is a potential audience if you can tie into the above.
I disagree on Hocker. I think he is likely the best American runner at 10k XC. Underestimate the world 5000m champion at your own risk. I don’t think he beats Aregawi or Kiplimo, but I certainly think he could have won USA’s and been the top American at World’s.
An… interesting take? How did you manage to deduce this?
I don’t know if “deduce” is the right word. It’s an opinion. But the basis of it is that Hocker won the world 5000 meter championship in 12:58 in poor conditions. I think everyone is badly underestimating what that result says about Hocker’s endurance.
Do you think it is selfish and stupid for fans wanting to see the USA put forth our best team especially considering the event is on home soil?
Yes. It doesn't involve you. Take care of your own matters. You don't have any skin in the game.
Correct! He doesn’t need international exposure. Why bother bringing attention to the sport? I mean all it would do is grow his revenue base with the launch of the Fisher WC XC spike. Better to go back to the monastery and train in silence like every low key distance runner who came before him.
An… interesting take? How did you manage to deduce this?
I don’t know if “deduce” is the right word. It’s an opinion. But the basis of it is that Hocker won the world 5000 meter championship in 12:58 in poor conditions. I think everyone is badly underestimating what that result says about Hocker’s endurance.
The conditions were the same for everyone and they couldn’t have been that bad. Ky Robinson was about 2 seconds behind Hocker and missed his PR by one second. Kimeli has a PR in the mid 12:50s. Ingebrigtsen was far from being in top shape but he was only 4 seconds behind Hocker.
I don’t know if “deduce” is the right word. It’s an opinion. But the basis of it is that Hocker won the world 5000 meter championship in 12:58 in poor conditions. I think everyone is badly underestimating what that result says about Hocker’s endurance.
The conditions were the same for everyone and they couldn’t have been that bad. Ky Robinson was about 2 seconds behind Hocker and missed his PR by one second. Kimeli has a PR in the mid 12:50s. Ingebrigtsen was far from being in top shape but he was only 4 seconds behind Hocker.
I doubt if Hocker would medaled in a 12:45 race.
There has never been a world championship 5000m in 12:45, so I don’t see how that matters.
Nor do I see how Ky Robinson (Australian), Isaac Kimeli (Belgian) or Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norwegian) matter in regards to the upcoming US cross country championship race.
I don’t know if “deduce” is the right word. It’s an opinion. But the basis of it is that Hocker won the world 5000 meter championship in 12:58 in poor conditions. I think everyone is badly underestimating what that result says about Hocker’s endurance.
The conditions were the same for everyone and they couldn’t have been that bad. Ky Robinson was about 2 seconds behind Hocker and missed his PR by one second. Kimeli has a PR in the mid 12:50s. Ingebrigtsen was far from being in top shape but he was only 4 seconds behind Hocker.
I doubt if Hocker would medaled in a 12:45 race.
I actually broke into hysterical laughter reading your inane post. It seems like people like you just keep raising the bar for Hocker. Nothing he accomplishes is ever good enough for you. The conditions were the same bad conditions for everyone. Which means the field would have finished in the 12:40s in good conditions. So therefore, Hocker still would have won in 12:45. Your dislike for Hocker has blinded you from the reality that he is one of the best runners period on the planet. Your bias won’t let you believe it.
I used to get flabbergasted at the naivete on this site but now it just amuses me. Keep fighting over and feeling entitlement to question other people's rational decisions, bros.
The conditions were the same for everyone and they couldn’t have been that bad. Ky Robinson was about 2 seconds behind Hocker and missed his PR by one second. Kimeli has a PR in the mid 12:50s. Ingebrigtsen was far from being in top shape but he was only 4 seconds behind Hocker.
I doubt if Hocker would medaled in a 12:45 race.
There has never been a world championship 5000m in 12:45, so I don’t see how that matters.
Nor do I see how Ky Robinson (Australian), Isaac Kimeli (Belgian) or Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norwegian) matter in regards to the upcoming US cross country championship race.
It matters in the sense that people believe Hocker has become world class for 10000m.
The conditions were the same for everyone and they couldn’t have been that bad. Ky Robinson was about 2 seconds behind Hocker and missed his PR by one second. Kimeli has a PR in the mid 12:50s. Ingebrigtsen was far from being in top shape but he was only 4 seconds behind Hocker.
I doubt if Hocker would medaled in a 12:45 race.
I actually broke into hysterical laughter reading your inane post. It seems like people like you just keep raising the bar for Hocker. Nothing he accomplishes is ever good enough for you. The conditions were the same bad conditions for everyone. Which means the field would have finished in the 12:40s in good conditions. So therefore, Hocker still would have won in 12:45. Your dislike for Hocker has blinded you from the reality that he is one of the best runners period on the planet. Your bias won’t let you believe it.
You completely missed my point which is the conditions couldn’t have have been that bad given that some runners approached their PRs.
Rather than raising the bar, I’m reacting to the belief that he’s now the best 5000m and 10000m runner in the U.S. There have probably been a thousand posts saying that Ingebrigtsen wouldn’t have won medals in the 5000m if the East Africans cared to set a hot pace. You should be able to find many of these posts and bring more hilarity into your life. I actually am a fan of Hocker and was thrilled with his win in Paris.