Phew.
We're still catching our breath from the week-long release of our Preseason Individual XC Rankings. Let me just say that I am extremely proud of our team. They did an outstanding job with their research and analysis all while consistently meeting extremely tight deadlines.
For that reason, they are getting some much-deserved time off over the next week as they mentally recharge and prepare for our future plans. But don't worry, we still have content coming your way this week!
As we begin to reach the latter portion of the summer and inch closer to the upcoming cross country season, I thought it would be a good idea to keep everyone updated as to what our next steps are. Here are a few things you should know...
D3 content is coming soon
One of the biggest requests we've received over the past year has been to expand our coverage to D3. Welp, you asked and we listened.
Starting this fall, The Stride Report will begin posting D3 content! In fact, you can actually expect some D3 content coming your way in the very near future...
However, please keep in mind that we have very limited man-power in that area right now. While I'm sure many of us at TSR will help produce articles and analysis, it's important to know that our D3 team is essentially a one-man show at the moment. In other words, it will take time for us to fully integrate D3 coverage into our site on a consistent basis.
If you have any interest in covering D2 or D3 men's and women's distance running, let us know! You can follow the instructions for applying by clicking this link.
Team rankings are in the works
We just wrapped up our individual rankings, but it's never too late to start thinking about our team rankings! Our D1 XC Top 25 teams will be coming your way very soon! Early August is currently our goal in terms of a release date.
But don't worry, we haven't forgotten about D2!
Because our D2 group is significantly smaller than our D1 team, we are giving them extra time to build out their Top 10 (or Top 15) teams as well as their Top Five recruiting classes. This means that you can expect the last portion of our D2 rankings to come at the end of August or early September.
Oh, and speaking of which...
Your TSR admin is going to Africa...for two weeks
Believe it or not, there are a lot of other things in this world outside of TSR (sometimes I forget about that). In a little over a month, I will be taking a two week trip to Africa which means I will be away from the site for the first half of September. I'd like to tell you that I am doing it to train with Kenyan elites or to help volunteer, but I am truthfully going for site-seeing purposes and to be your general tourist.
So...what does that mean for you?
Ideally, nothing.
The idea is to have content prepared ahead of time so that my absence doesn't result in a total stoppage of articles and site updates. Our man John Cusick (and maybe a couple of others) will help TSR run smoothly while I am overseas. Our plans for the site are still up in the air, and it is very possible that there could be days where we simply don't post anything at all. But don't worry, we aren't just giving up on the site.
We'll make sure to send out another reminder about this as we near the end of August.
Final notes
If you haven't already, be sure to check our Preseason XC Individual Rankings and our D1 Recruit Class Rankings. We have a ton of content, great analysis, and plenty to debate about in each of those ranking releases.
We also encourage you to check out our TRANSFERS page! You can find all of this year's transfers in one place. It is constantly being updated (we know we still have a few more names to add) so be sure to give it a few visits to stay up to date.
If you're on social media, feel free to give us a follow us on Twitter and Instagram! We report a lot of our news on there well before we can update the site. It's also a great way to stay updated on certain articles we post and for you to give us feedback as well as share your thoughts.
Speaking of feedback, if you haven't already, let us know how we're doing! Go to our FEEDBACK page and fill out a few questions (anonymously) about your experience with the site (and what you would like to see from us). We read all of your responses.
Finally, if you ever have any general comments, requests, suggestions, questions, concerns, or pictures of your dog that you want to send us, our inbox and DM's are always open. It may take some time for us to respond, but we will always get back to you!
As always, your continued support and willingness to spread the word about TSR is beyond appreciated. Stay tuned, we have plenty of great stuff on the way...