Lifespan of Footlocker Race

I thought the production was great. Funny I was thinking about how good the video was with course map, elevation, leader board, split screen, etc. I don't know what you watched. There have never been fans at the meet.

Footlocker started in 1979 and was the sole national championship for the next 25 years.

In 2004, Nike started the team national championship.

In 2006, Nike added a second race for individuals but not many top people participated because Nike did not pay any expenses for them, only for the teams.

In 2008, Nike thought they could bury Footlocker by changing the format to include both teams and qualifying individuals, paying the expenses for all. They assumed they could simply give the runners more "stuff" and get them to all go to Portland rather than San Diego.

Sixteen years later, Footlocker is still going strong.

Nike failed at destroying Footlocker. But they succeeded at destroying a true national championship in cross country.

Footlocker would be done if Nike didn't hold NXN on a swamp course. You either fall for the Nike marketing or choose to run a watered down race in a warm weather location.

Footlocker needs to add at least 20 at large bids to each race to make it legitimate again. Take the ten qualifiers from each region and then offer spots to the top finishers from NXN or NXR meets.

Not sure if the Balboa Park course could handle sixty runners per race since it already looks pretty tight.

I'm also hearing the course this year might have changed somewhere between 1.5-2 mile mark. That would explain the extremely slow second mile splits in both races. Does anyone have any Garmin or Strava data to confirm?

I used to bemoan the demise of FL, but NXN seems like a meet which is more fun. The emphasis is on teams, and it's a real XC course.

FL is less prestigious than NXN, and that’s been true for more than a decade. I would assume that these meets are not profitable regardless, but the NXR meets have many thousands of entrants, which partially offsets the losses. Entries for the Footlocker meets are probably around 1000 nationwide. That’s not much. Hoka as a company is doing great, though, so if they want support this, good for them. I’m sure it’s still a great experience for the kids who attend.

I watched both 2024 races and rewatched the portion of the race from 1 mile through the beginning of the second lap from 2023. It was difficult to really see any difference though because the camera did not stay on the leader throughout. It sometimes remained stationary as the pack passed and so I could not see the entire route. It does look like the mile mark is slightly further past the road than last year, though.

What really stood out to me was, despite how fast Macchia started this year, Forsyth was even faster last year. Macchia hit 0.5-mile in 2:38 and 1-mile in 5:20; Forsythe hit them in 2:23 and 5:01! Absolutely suicidal pace.

Girls 2024

Girls 2023

Boys 2024

Boys 2023

Apparently Forsyth took the course Going Out Slowly 101 this fall at MSU.

I'm not sure when it expanded to 10 qualifiers, but in the late 90s only 8 qualified from each region. Maybe they could go back to 8/region automatic qualifiers. If budget/size is an issue then select around 5 at larges.

Footlocker needs to nut up and get bold if it wants to thrive. Here are my recommendations:

1. Make it an invitation only event to secure the best possible fields. Issue those invites as the NXR events are wrapping up and to high placing CIF runners. FL/Hoka could put out a weekly rankings just like college football. Interested athletes would be motivated to make/stay on the 32-40 athlete watchlist.

2. Footlocker holds their meet on the same day as NXN. You don’t roll over for Nike! If the NXN girls run at 10:05, then the FL girls race starts at 10:30. NXN boys at 11:15, then FL boys at 11:40. Fans can switch between livestreams to catch four great races and FL pulls eyes away from Nike’s athlete intros and awards presentations. The weather visuals and performances can be compared by viewers in real time. Can you imagine how much forum traffic on LRC this would generate?

3. To point #1, top individuals would be forced to choose one or the other. Are you a contender with a weak school team? Do you want to put in a training block rather than traveling to a hard qualifying event? Does the team mean more to you? Do you take the sure thing rather than hoping to survive The Merge?

4. If invite only, FL needs to re-assert that their event crowns the “true” national champion. The best vs. the best, no one sits at home because their team had a bad day at NXR or Rich Gonzalez didn’t find you worthy at Woodward Park.

5. FL has to match the hype and the energy of NXN for both athletes and fans. Move the race to the LA area. There is probably a golf course or regional park that could host these relatively small fields. Bus the kids up to Goleta to see Hoka HQ to see future product, get their swag, talk to designers, shakeout run with Hoka athletes, etc. just like the Nike Campus experience. Of course, hype it up online and treat the kids like rockstars. You have to match Nike punch for punch.

Footlocker is more fun for the athletes who aren't on great teams. Given the choice many will go to Sunny San Diego over cold grey Northwest courses.

The Midwest Region had 633 total finishers across all races. And likely a good number who entered but did not run due to the nasty weather.

The course was changed this year between the 1 mile and 1.5 mile marks. (1.5 mile to 2 mile remained the same.)

I was there and saw the changes myself. I also heard several runners express surprise at how long the course was this year based on the info from their watches.

Also, the big hill was soggy because of recent rain and a sprinkler head that broke on Friday.

The San Diego course IS a real XC course. Over 300 ft of elevation gain (and loss) and lots of tight turns. There's nothing soft or wimpy about it.

recent rain? what? i live here. it hasn't rained in months... unless you call the 10 minute sprinkle we had the day before rain?

the course may have been slightly changed but not a significant amount to make the distance much more than it has been for a while.

the course is slower now because of upkeep at that park... it's awful. the city doesn't want to spend the money on it.

Hey bro, can you point me to the best pork burrito food trucks within 5-10 miles of the Nike campus in Beaverton?

Individual xc is always going to be more interesting than the team race. This is true at all levels. The guys battling it out running 14:30s is where the cameras should be rather than trying to catch who has more 15:30 guys to bring down their team score.

It rained a quarter of an inch and about 40 meters was added to each lap of the course this year, which means overall it was 80 meters longer than last year.

The lack of upkeep is very noticeable. Lots of holes, dirt mounds, and uneven ground. It would be nice if the City of San Diego fixed it up.

Zariel Macchia didn't start out fast it just appeared that way. Her 2:38.5 at the .5 mile mark would have put her in 26th place in last year's race.

Macchia this year was actually 6.3 seconds slower at the .5 mark this year than she was last year.

Many years the early leader at Foot Locker is going way too fast but this was not one of those years.

unless you are one of the organizers or one of the HS coaches who worked it, i'm not buying it was longer. if you say it was longer where exactly was the 40m added?

be accurate with your description because I know the course well. i did not run the entire course yesterday so if you can tell me the exact location of the change i may believe you. and when i say exact i mean describe the exact spot not something like 'between 1- 1.5 miles'

as for the rain, it had zero affect on the course condition. if a sprinkler broke on the course that's another matter but the rain was not an issue. there was nowhere close to 1/4 inch where i live and ground was not soggy on the course.

and the city isn't going to spend any coin on that park...