I was not there today but I suspect the wind was a huge factor. Seattle had 25 mph winds with 45 mph gusts. The course isn’t too difficult and should run pretty fast normally.
I was there today. Rooks led from the start to the finish and was never challenged. The course was very wet, muddy, rainy, and extremely windy. The wind was a steady 20mph with gusts easily to 40mph. The course was very slick on some of the turns with a number of people going down. The open 10K was the last race of the day which is why it was in such bad shape by the time the open 10K was run. Temperature wasn't that bad, about 48F, but you were completely soaked from all the rain.
From someone that has never raced it, it seems like club nats always has a crappy course and conditions. I wonder what kind of budget/resources they are working with.
Will this be an “open” race (as in anyone can run in it? Unfamiliar with the process
Club Nationals is always an all-comers race, all you need is a USATF membership. You can run unattached if you don't belong to a club. The USATF Cross Country championships is technically open registration as well (they may have a suggested finishing time), and they also have a masters' race and a community race.
From someone that has never raced it, it seems like club nats always has a crappy course and conditions. I wonder what kind of budget/resources they are working with.
I'm surprised this got so many down votes. I brief history of recent years that I remember:
2024 - Tacoma - mud, rain, wind, sleet, long course.
2023 - Tallahassee - super hot and humid. Lots of misery.
2022 - San Francisco - rain, wind, laps around the horse track.
2021 - Tallahassee - hot and humid, but a touch better than 2023.
2019 - Bethlehem - Another sloppy mudfest and raining.
2018 - Spokane - Super cold, but pretty decent otherwise. Long course.