It's on. Pro XC race in US. Fitnessbank Cross Champs is Thursday at 5:30 pm ET in Austin!!

Update: Wejo wrote up a little piece on the press conference from yesterday. The OAC guys in particular talked a lot about the course saying ""A True Cross Country Course" "I'm Scared People Are Going to Fall Over"

Plus talk of the tough 10,000m qualifying standards.

I'm excited for this one. OAC definitely has the most talented field, so I think they'll win it. Who's the favorite? Hoare is the most accomplished, but not at XC. He does have that 13:09 PR from a year ago though. Klecker has the best 5k PR and placed 9th in the WC 10k, and has a good track record from NCAA XC. Tiernan was a national champ, but he hasn't been running as well as Klecker as of late. McDonald is in the same boat, so I don't think he's the favorite, but he's my pick to win. He was injured for over a year straight and had covid setbacks, but he was finally getting it together in August/September running 7:39/13:19. It sounds like he's been pretty healthy since then so with his talent + XC acumen, I think he's a dark horse for the win.

Look for Andrew Colley to finish near the top. He's at his best on a XC course and he ran very well at Manchester on Thanksgiving.

Considering this announcement. This is why i follow letrsrun, it's a vital source to the running community that likes to keep up to date information.

I actually have high hopes for NAZ Elite. Kiptoo and Wildschutt (honestly also Masai) have had incredible finishes at NCAA cross, and Hacker is fresh off an NCAA 5K title. I think any of those four could beat McDonald.

Does Runnerspace + work in the UK? Or is there any better way to watch it? Would love to check it out.

Yes, NAZ Elite looks like a really strong squad for xc along with OAC and ADP.

I wrote up a little piece on the press conference from yesterday. The OAC guys in particular talked a lot about the course saying ""A True Cross Country Course" "I'm Scared People Are Going to Fall Over"

Plus talk of the tough 10,000m qualifying standards.

letsrun.com

"I''m Scared People Are Going to Fall Over" - Cross Champs XC Course in Austin

LetsRun.com

A flat course in the hill country of Texas got the runners attention at the pre race press conference.

Open link

I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to this race, so I hope the broadcast is good. I saw footage from the warmups, and at least the part they featured looked "not fun" (hay bales, ruts, off-angle hillside course); i.e., far from the racetrack we might expect. Good stuff.

If that Instagram video is supposed to represent an extreme course element, that tells me everything I need to know about runners who've gone through the NCAA system.

Individual top-5
1
Edwin Kurgat
American Distance Project
23:30.1
(5:06.0)
0
2
Yared Nuguse
On Athletics Club
23:33.3
(5:07.1)
2
3
Oliver Hoare
On Athletics Club
23:35.3
(5:09.6)
0
4
Morgan McDonald
On Athletics Club
23:44.7
(5:10.5)
1
5
George Beamish
On Athletics Club
23:45.2
(5:10.4)

1
17
On Athletics Club
8k

2
70
HOKA NAZ Elite
8k

3
86
Hansons-Brooks ODP
8k

4
91
Tinman Elite
8k

5
121
Empire Elite TC
8k

Thx for update. Keep 'em coming.

well at least that'll keep the TME boys quiet for a bit longer

I expected a bit more from Klecker. Threat run from Nuguse. McDonald looks to be nearly back to his old self. Hoare looked to have gone out hard and blew up a bit. Had a 50m lead early.

Not exactly the a squad

They only score the top 4. So this and the results are wrong.