#TheJourneytoCompete: A cross-country newsletter, Issue #13, 

January 2, 2026, A Great Cross-Country Season! 

#TheJourneytoCompete is a celebration of all things cross-country and a collaboration between #NIKErunning and #RunBlogRun. We will publish #JourneytoCompete weekly, on Fridays, from October 10, 2025, to January 15, 2026! To subscribe, send an email with your email address to runblogrun@gmail.com. We will sign you up! We will post archived copies of the NIKE Newsletter at runblogrun.com and RunningNetwork.com

Happy New Year from NIKE and RunBlogRun!

 The final moments before the 2025 NXN Girls Champs, photo by Brian Eder @CameraAthletica

Deep thoughts from Steve Prefontaine, Quote #13

Steve Prefontaine was a rock star when he dominated American distance running. “Pre,” as his fans called him, was best at the 2-mile to 5,000-meter distance and then, shocked many with his forays at the six-mile and 10,000-meter distances. At the time of his death, Pre owned the American records at 3,000 meters, 2 miles, 3 miles, 5,000 meters, six miles and 10,000 meters.

Dave Wottle, the 1972 Olympic gold medalist at the 800 meters, battled Pre over the mile distance in 1973, at the Hayward Restoration meet. It was one of just three times that Steve Prefontaine lost at any distance on Hayward Field-all three were at the mile!

Over fifty-two years later, Dave Wottle told this writer just how tough Prefontaine was and how desperately he battled to defeat Wottle! Steve ran his mile PB, at the time, the third best time by an American, ever (3:54.6)

Here is our quote for Week #13 from Steve Prefontaine:

"I run to see who has the most guts." ~ Steve Prefontaine

Steve Prefontaine racing a 2-mile indoors in the Portland Indoor Meeting (circa 1973), photo by NIKE communications

The World Cross Country is coming to Tallahassee, by Jeff Benjamin

RunBlogRun will be covering the World series of Cross-Country, the 2026 World Athletics Cross-Country Championships, which will be held in Tallahassee, Florida on January 10-11, 2025! Here the official site link, where you can find all your want to know on the World Cross Country Champs!

https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-championships/tallahassee26

Here is the tentative USA Cross-Country teams for the World Cross-Country:

https://www.usatf.org/news/2025/kelati-wolfe-claim-u-s-xc-titles

Here’s a piece from World Athletics on the US Cross-Country Championships, which were held on December 6, 2025 in Portland, Oregon–– the same weekend as the NIKE Cross Nationals!

The 2025 NIKE Cross Nationals: All you need to know! 

Here’s our link for the photo galleries for the NXN Boys Champs, NXN Girls Champs and our story, COMPETE! on what happened at NIKE Cross and what it means!

https://www.runblogrun.com/2025/12/the-2025-nike-cross-nationals-all-you-need-to-know-results-photo-galleries-stories-geek-stuff.html?swcfpc=1

 Natasza Dudek outkicks Blair Bartlett at NXN 2025 Girls Championships, photo by Brian Eder @cameraathletica

The perfect training shoe duo for high school runners! The NIKE Pegasus PLUS and the NIKE Vomero 18!

#ForShoeGeeksOnly: The perfect duo: NIKE Pegasus PLUS (for hard days) and NIKE Vomero 18 (for long runs, easy days). I recommend two pairs of training shoes for the fall: a NIKE Pegasus PLUS and a NIKE Vomero 18 (shown below) for easy days and long days. The Pegasus PLUS is well-constructed, can handle dirt and mud, and delivers a stable, comfortable ride without overdoing the cushioning. As always, we do not recommend buying your running performance shoes remotely; please go to a real, live running store.

Pegasus PLUS, photo by NIKE

The NIKE Pegasus PLUS may be the perfect NIKE running shoe for summer and fall high school running. It is light, sturdy, and built for miles! I would recommend it for speed days, fartlek days, hill days, and if you have just one shoe, a good trainer/racer. Nike is back on track with this shoe, part of the NIKE Pegasus 41 evolution. If you need a little more cushioning, try the NIKE Vomero 18. The Vomero 18 has more cushioning than the Pegasus PLUS. If you like NIKE, I would suggest high schoolers use the NIKE Pegasus PLUS for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I would suggest the Vomero 18 for Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I always suggest two pairs of training shoes.

Vomero 18, photo by NIKE

Learn more on www.nikerunning.com. #NIKErunning, #PegasusPLUS, #Vomero18, #Trainingwithtwoshoes

From the RunBlogRun ARCHIVES:

The Roads Not Taken: The Untold Story of Janet Bristol, one of America’s most promising distance runners, a story by Rich Englehart with photos by Jeff Johnson, used with permission; curated by Walt Chadwick.

Want to see the new NIKE spikes offered for January 2026?

Want to know about the hottest track spikes from NIKE?

#ForShoeGeeksOnly, What Did the Elite Wear in Tokyo, and what are the special launches for November and January from NIKE? Check this out!

Nike PLMs Patrick Richie and Natalie Kile, art by Mike Deering @TheShoeAddicts for RunBlogRun

Learning from NIKE athletes…

The Journey to Compete, Cross-Country, Learning from NIKE SWOOSH TC athletes: Ten Interviews: Maggi Congdon, Liam Murphy, Drew Bosley, Parker Wolfe, Ethan Strand, Woody Kincaid, and guest, Moh Ahmed, Abdi Nur, Elise Steiner,Yusuf Bizimana

Learning from NIKE Coaches…

#TheJourneytoCompete Interview, Episode 1, Coach Juli Benson Explains the Challenges and Excitement of our sport! How to be a better racer!

Juli Benson’s journey from a 400-meter runner to an Olympic 1,500-meter competitor was marked by many challenges, as with most athletes. During much of that time, Juli wanted to be a coach, a vocation which she pursued with vigor! Listen to her story and learn from her suggestions!

Juli Benson, art by Mike Deering @theShoeAddicts for RunBlogRun 

The #JourneytoCompete is a newsletter celebrating cross-country for high school athletes and providing weekly updates on the NIKE Cross Nationals and NIKE running shoes.

#TheJourneytoCompete, a NIKE Cross-Country Newsletter, Back issues 1-12:

Lynn Jennings with Judi St. Hillaire, 10,000 meters, 1992 Barcelona, photo by USOPC

You have just read the NIKE XC newsletter, issue #13, #TheJourneytoCompete, a newsletter celebrating all things cross-country! Have suggestions on what to cover?

Please email us at fortiusmedia@gmail.com with the subject NIKE XC!

For more information, please go to www.nikerunning.com

And then, the converged, the NIKE Border Clash (1999-2018), a great event, photo by NIKE Communications 

A Special thanks to NIKE Sports Marketing, NIKE Communications, and NIKE Advertising!

We have worked with NIKE since 1985 on various projects. Since Spring of 2025, we have covered global events: From the NIKE Pre Classic to the USATF Outdoors, Tokyo World Championships, Chicago Marathon, NYC Marathon, NXR Southwest, the Running Event, NIKE Cross Nationals, and USA Cross-Country––with the support of NIKE Sports Marketing, NIKE Communications, and NIKE Advertising! We hope you have enjoyed our coverage and that of NIKE coaches, athletes, and the product team!

Thanks to the NIKE Running team for all of their support!

Watch for more in 2026 and Happy New Year! 

Photo Credits:

NIKE Communications

Kevin Morris @KevMoFoto

Jeff Johnson

How Lao Photography

Brian Eder / Camera Athletica

USOPC

#TheJourneytoCompete Staff:

Newsletter Production: Chuck Bartlett Copy Editor: Kathleen Camara Writers:Deji Ogeyingbo, Larry Eder, Stuart Weir, Jeff Benjamin,Rich Engelhardt Stats: Gemini Artificial Intelligence Editor: Larry Eder

Copyright 2026 by Fortius Media Group, LLC.

The #JourneytoCompete is a collaboration between NIKE Running and RunBlogRun.

To learn more about RunBlogRun, please go to www.runblogrun.com.