Foot Locker Cross Country Championships
Adam Dailey competed in the 1993 Foot Locker Championships in San Diego. He would qualify a year later with his girlfriend, Jessica Koch, for the 1994 Championships. The next year Jessica would win Foot Locker South and earn another trip to San Diego.
The Daileys would go off to become All-Americans at the University of Arkansas together and eventually they’d get married, settle and put down roots in San Diego. Little did they know their experience with Foot Locker Cross Country was far from over!
In 2022, Chiara started running for the first time. To cap her freshman season off, she qualified for Foot Locker and finished 14th at Nationals in San Diego, earning All-American honors.
In 2023, Chiara won the Foot Locker West Regional by almost 100 meters. She had an off day the next weekend in San Diego at nationals, but was still able to earn All-American honors by placing 11th overall in the nation.
Fast forward to December 14, 2024. Chiara is back in San Diego for a third straight year and is geared to vie for a national title, exactly 30 years after both of her parents competed at Foot Locker together.
Adam’s vision the past couple years is to engulf the entire course with yellow Chiara shirts. He was inspired by hearing stories of Marc Davis’ victory in 1986 who was a San Diego high standout runner.
Time
Chiara races at 9:15 am (show up early and hang out at the tailgate ). Parking is not easy so give yourself some time.
Time
Chiara races at 9:15 am (show up early and hang out at the tailgate (hyperlink to the tailgate section). Parking is not easy so give yourself some time. Show
Place
Morley Field San Diego, CA
The Tailgate
A few years ago, Ryan Clive Smith started to try to organize a meet up point at the 1 mile mark for Foot Locker. Over the years, the party got a little bigger and bigger.
In 2022, Chiara’s dad mentioned to Ryan that he thought Chiara might actually make Foot Locker. We went all out…creating a pretty big spread that included a live broadcast of the game (and post race FIFA World Cup Games).
The tailgate continues to support our San Diego local athlete. Join us, come grab your CHIARA fan gear (provided by Hoka).
