How can I become a CONTRIBUTOR for TSR?

 

The Stride Report is a site that is constantly growing in viewership as well as reputation. Our goal is to consistently provide high quality and detailed articles to all of our site visitors.

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EXPECTATIONS

Here are some of the expectations that we have for our contributors...

• Produce at least one article a week (unless agreed upon otherwise). This cannot be stressed enough.

  • Failure to produce at least one article a week will result in a warning ​

  • A second failure to produce at least one article a week will result in the removal from TSR's writing staff

• Submit articles with strong sentence structure and limited errors/edits

• The articles are timely and the topics are relevant

• The length of the articles are usually over 1200 words

• Most articles you will be writing should contain some type of argument. You'll need to defend that argument with examples, previous results, subjective speculation, and/or historical data.

• Communicate and discuss ideas with other writers and site Admins.

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Please understand that writing for TSR is a commitment. The expectation is that you will consistently write or meaningfully contribute at least once a week. 

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TYPES OF CONTENT

Here are the types of articles that TSR typically publishes or would like to publish...​

• Predictions + Previews

• Features + Interviews

• In-depth analytics that examine historical trends, data, and averages (see our Run The Numbers articles)

• Development of a ranking system that is consistently updated

• Reacting to news and commenting on its potential impact

• General commentary on teams, individuals, meets, events, etc.

• Potential podcasts

 

We encourage you to adopt a writing style that is casual and light in nature, while also discussing subjects that are analytical and meaningful. You should avoid writing articles with titles like, "Which Distance Runner Would Win In A Slam Dunk Contest". We also ask that you avoid writing articles with political commentary. All ideas will need to be cleared by an Admin.

 

A TSR Admin has the right to reject any article that they believe does not reach the quality standards of the site. A TSR Admin may also reject any article that they believe does not match the expectations of our readers.

 

In order to spark article ideas and creativity, we suggest that you look at other speculative and analytical sites such as FiveThirtyEight, The Ringer, and Bleacher Report. We do not encourage you to copy these articles, but we do suggest that you look into these sites to spark ideas for how you can cover and discuss our sport in a more confident and intelligent way.

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COVERAGE ROLES

TSR is still young, but we are seeing some encouraging growth. Although we are very happy with the content we are producing, we acknowledge that we must cover different aspects of our sport to continue our success.

 

Below, you can check to see which areas of coverage you might be interested in getting involved with. Keep in mind that due to a limited budget, we cannot immediately fill all of these positions at once. 

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Ranked by priority...

1. Boys + Girls distance running (Scouting + Recruiting + Rankings) (HS)

2. Men's + Women's distance running (General) (NAIA)

3. Women's distance running (General) (D1)

4. Men's + Women's distance running (General) (D2)

5. Podcasts (Audio) (All Levels)

   • Do you have a podcast focused on collegiate ​distance running or something similar? Send us an application via email to join our TSR Podcast Network and gain all of the exposure that comes with joining.

6. Social Media (Media)

   • Experience with multiple social media platforms (required​)

   • ​Experience with either Canva, Photoshop, Visme, or other graphics tools (preferred)​​

   • Aim to increase exposure, engagement, and social media following

   • Capable of accessing social media platforms intermittently throughout the day

   • Extremely attentive to sentence structure, proper grammar and correct spelling

   • Highly self-motivated, consistent, and quick to react to news

   • We will entertain the idea of 3 to 4 month internship opportunities if appropriate

7. Men's + Women's distance running (General) (D3)

8. Men + Women's distance running (General) (JUCO)

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COMPENSATION

Yes, we pay you for the articles you write! For every article you write and publish, you will be paid $15. 

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TSR may include further incentive plans or payments based on number of views or exceptional effort.

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APPLYING

In the early stages of our development, TSR originally restricted current collegiate athletes from writing. However, after being cleared by multiple NCAA compliance offices, we have decided to open our writing opportunities to ALL collegiate athletes.

 

However, we still suggest that you talk to your NCAA compliance team to confirm that you'll maintain your eligibility.

 

It's important to note that you did not have to run in college in order to write or contribute for TSR. 

If you are in college and are not on an NCAA roster, you are still more than welcome to apply. 

 

All interested candidates must have finished high school prior to applying.

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If you meet our criteria for writers / contributors and are still interested in joining the crew, send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com. In that email, please list your...

• Name

• Running background

• Any content creation experience you have (preferred, but prior experience is not required)

• Pictures, videos, and podcast links can also be sent in as samples

• A 300 to 500 word writing sample that a reader would expect to find on TSR​​​

  • Topics can be about whatever you would like as long as it is relevant to TSR's coverage

  • Please check for any grammatical errors or confusing sentence structure

  • This writing sample can be attached via Word Doc, PDF, or typed into the email

• For social media, you can send anything that you believe is relevant to the opening