.[/quote]
I think it might be safe to safe that the top two guys in the nation ended up at footlocker this year while the top two girls ended up at NXN. footlocker will not be dieing any time soon as some LRC posters indicate. [/quote]
Having done Footlocker Finals in the past, I can attest that Footlocker delivers an incredible weekend experience for the 40 top boys and 40 top girls in the country - - at one of the highest quality resort / course combos in the world! They leave nothing undone from the tons of goodie bag types of handouts to the social programming to the waterfront rooms at the world class Coronado Inn to the race night bash when the boys and girls hope against hope they might get lucky having given the race their all earlier in the day.
And of course there is the race itself. You are one of the best, the chosen, the pride of your community, city, state and region. And, unlike Nike's "me, too" race which has more lower quality runners because of runner variation due to the Nike team concept, you know you are competing against the very best in the country down to the very last boy and girl.
At race time, you give it your best. Whatever your finish, you bask in the realization you are one of the very best in the country. You look forward to calls from the top college coaches in the country as they feverishly try to nail you down to a campus visit. For now, though, it is most important to savor the ephemeral bliss of the culmination of your high school career - an appearance at the Footlocker Cross Country Championships - an experience that will forever be etched in your consciousness.
And that, my friends, is why Footlocker continues to be the defining event in high school cross country in America.
Amen.