You guys are also missing one of the biggest draws to NXN.....the gear. There are millions of high school runners that would die for a custom Nike NXN singlet. It's the single most coveted item for any high school xc runner. Footlocker, Champs, etc will never be able to compete with that. As long as Nike keeps handing out these custom singlets, NXN will continue to reign supreme.
My prediction: NXN will (continue to) be the de facto national championship. That leaves a lot of really good team that would like to plan on a postseason meet, so RunningLane will continue.
The smart play would be for the RunningLane sponsor to take over The Race Formerly Known as Footlocker and combine the events. That would instantly give them more credibility, more competitive fields, and an argument that the winners of their race are the real national champs, at least individually. I wouldn't buy it, but the argument would be a lot more plausible.
Everyone is so quick to try and kill off one of these meets, I think they can all exist in some form.
If I were RunningLane I would go back to my late November date and try to attract those states that an earlier State meet and looking for something post-season after that.
Then if I were Footlocker/Champs I would be looking for dates for my Regionals and Nationals that don't conflict with NXR or NXN.
Not sure why anyone would want to share a piece of the same National talent with the other meets so pick dates that don't conflict for the most part.
Everyone is so quick to try and kill off one of these meets, I think they can all exist in some form.
If I were RunningLane I would go back to my late November date and try to attract those states that an earlier State meet and looking for something post-season after that.
Then if I were Footlocker/Champs I would be looking for dates for my Regionals and Nationals that don't conflict with NXR or NXN.
Not sure why anyone would want to share a piece of the same National talent with the other meets so pick dates that don't conflict for the most part.
Honestly, with the exception of claiming to be a national championship and bad weather, I think RL’s role this year was fine. Matching up with NXN helps them land big numbers. West coast kids should go to Champs West, not RL.
For the other regional meets, ideally the late running states would get in line and wrap up a little sooner and NXN and Champs would give each other different weekends. Not going to happen.
I think it is a shame that there will, in all likelihood, never be a national championship that means what it did in Footlocker/Kinney's heyday. I can never support anything Nike does, so post season is such a letdown now. I love the concept of a team championship with NXN, but it could have coexisted with Footlocker. Nike chose to destroy it. They put a lot of money into running, and that's great, but they don't always make decisions that help grow the sport.
My two cents worth. I think having more high quality post season meets that are accessible to runners is good for our sport. I've been to RL as a parent the last 2 years and I can say without a doubt the meet is ran exceptionally well and the kids are having a blast.
Sure Nike will probably win as they have the deepest pockets, but that meet is only for ~400 kids, and Champs is only for 40 kids.
It is a problem that, for the most part, kids have to choose between NXN and Champs. In the NE, the qualifiers for both are run on the same day. In the past, the top NE runners who were not on national-level teams all ran FL/Eastbay/Champs. This year, some ran NXR (most notably Devan Kipyego; both Aidan Cox and Byron Grevious were on teams that like to compete as teams), in order to be able to compete against the top of the top - Newbury Park. Others (Sam Burgess, Drew Griffith, Brian Dicola, etc) ran Champs. If not for NP and the Youngs/Aaron, I feel more of the non-elite team kids from all over the country would have chosen Champs, as has been the case in the past. It would be great if the schedules could all be better aligned/coordinated. The NE/NY NXR is run on a brutal course (Bowdoin Park) and only one week before NXN, putting the runners at a disadvantage compared to some others who have some extra time. It would be nice if NXR NE/NY were run a little earlier (hint, hint). This year, RL is qualitatively a distant 3rd behind the other 2.
I think it is a shame that there will, in all likelihood, never be a national championship that means what it did in Footlocker/Kinney's heyday. I can never support anything Nike does, so post season is such a letdown now. I love the concept of a team championship with NXN, but it could have coexisted with Footlocker. Nike chose to destroy it. They put a lot of money into running, and that's great, but they don't always make decisions that help grow the sport.
Nike did not destroy it. Nike tried to partner with FL and they had an agreement for a couple of years where the top individuals at NTN were invited to FL. Nike actually offered to combine the two meets, under the Foot Locker umbrella. FL declined, so Nike added individuals. I think both have been great for the sport, but please don't wrongfully paint Nike as the bad guys in this case.
It is a problem that, for the most part, kids have to choose between NXN and Champs. In the NE, the qualifiers for both are run on the same day. In the past, the top NE runners who were not on national-level teams all ran FL/Eastbay/Champs. This year, some ran NXR (most notably Devan Kipyego; both Aidan Cox and Byron Grevious were on teams that like to compete as teams), in order to be able to compete against the top of the top - Newbury Park. Others (Sam Burgess, Drew Griffith, Brian Dicola, etc) ran Champs. If not for NP and the Youngs/Aaron, I feel more of the non-elite team kids from all over the country would have chosen Champs, as has been the case in the past. It would be great if the schedules could all be better aligned/coordinated. The NE/NY NXR is run on a brutal course (Bowdoin Park) and only one week before NXN, putting the runners at a disadvantage compared to some others who have some extra time. It would be nice if NXR NE/NY were run a little earlier (hint, hint). This year, RL is qualitatively a distant 3rd behind the other 2.
It is unfortunate that runners in the NE/NY area must choose, but historically NY, especially on the girls side, has faired very well with only one week between regionals and nationals.
I think NXN is the best one but Footlocker had such nostalgia and that epic san diego course. I feel like Footlocker could make a comeback if they just get rid of regionals all together, have the race 2 weeks after NXN instead of 1, and handpick the top guys in the nation. field of 30
Nike overcharges for entry. They overcharge for merchandise. They overcharge for the pasta party. Imagine how great the event would be if they didn't charge. Would they go broke?
How dare Nike want to have a HS national championships with both teams and individuals. Covid cancelled NXN for 2 years.
The first year was fair, but the second year was ridiculous. It was safe enough for everyone to fly to NIKE's OWN regional meets.
It's unfortunate that Nike felt they had to cancel last year, but their campus was still closed to their own employees. RL is not taking on the cost or responsibility for their gold race participants. Very different structure than NXN. I'm not saying the RL model is wrong, but they are different. You're trying to compare apples to oranges.
I'm going to say Champs has the most instability simply due to sponsorship parent company... moving from Foot Locker to Eastbay to Champs has not helped the brand of the race.
NXN cancelling for 2020 and especially 2021 hurt their brand and allowed Garmin (now New Balance) RunningLane to enter the scene in a big, big way.
RunningLane will continue because it's a true open championship. No politics, no at-large bids, no regional qualifying, just show up and race mano a mano.
Thankfully I've been blessed to run them all and enjoyed them all, but it would be nice to have one post-season race. Right now, real-time, NXN has all the hype... but the media cycle is short-lived and Champs will have the final word and buzz like it always does because it is last and all the media entities need content and NXN fades.
Running Lane may be a "true open championship", but a championship of what. Its like the NIT in basketball, no one really thinks any of those teams could be Top 10 or even Top 15 at NXN. Nor could any of the individuals be Top 20 at either of the real National Championship races. Realistically, its for team that either just aren't good enough to run at NXN, or want a shot to win without having to face the real top teams.
I sort of question if most teams need that extra meet. Haven't the kids run enough 5ks by this point of the year? Sure if you have a national class team go run regionals and nats but for everyone else, call it a season after states.
If you want to set PRs, do a fricken distance carnival. Have the kids run a 5k on the track. Or do a mile, 2 mile, 5k meet. Who wants some made up XC PR...