Spend a day in the life with University of Washington standout Chloe Foerster as she takes us behind the scenes of life as a Husky track & cross country athlete! 🐺 From training sessions 🏃‍♀️💨 and fueling 🍽️ to time with teammates, Chloe gives an inside look at what it really takes to compete at the NCAA level in Seattle. The vlog also features the “Bras for Girls” community event, moments with UW teammates, and appearances from her partner — UW alum and Adidas pro Joe Waskom — highlighting the support system around elite athletes. 🎥 Watch now for an inside look with the two-time NCAA All-American and experience a full day on and off the track at Washington.

Rankings crafted via Ellie Clark Yep! You read the title right! We're trying something new at The Stride Report. With the start of 2026 comes our commitment to (slowly) expanding our content offerings. That includes making an effort to cover more than just the distance events. As such, we're going to try our hand at the sprints, both in terms of rankings and, throughout 2026, written analysis. Of course, our sprints coverage team is still very small, so it will take time for us to establish a base of consistency and more rigorous content. But for now, here are the top Division One men and top women who are expected to headline the sprints and hurdles events this winter. And yes, we did update our rankings to reflect Jonathan Simms' 400-meter performance.

Rankings crafted via Miguel Zacarias, Eleni Lovgren & Garrett Zatlin Welcome back to The Stride Report's NAIA rankings! This season, we'll be offering top-25 rankings for the men and women in the NAIA distance running scene, specifically for events 800 meters and up. This week, we have our "First Edition" of these rankings, which is essentially preseason rankings given the very limited number of NAIA results that we have so far this season. These rankings will be updated as the winter months unfold with in-season analysis sprinkled in between updates. Have any interest in contributing to our NAIA team? Be sure to check out our OPEN ROLES page and apply!

The men’s under-20 squad was the only podium finisher on the day, while Parker Wolfe and Ednah Kurgat were the top men's and women's finishers on Saturday. Written by Cory Mull TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Parker Wolfe kept it simple describing his effort on Saturday at the World Cross Country Championships.  “I was just gonna hang tough, man," he said.   With temperatures rising steadily heading into the final race of the day just after noon local time, navigating the distance, the obstacles and the heat became a three-pronged approach for athletes at Apalachee Regional Park.  And with that said, the American men walked away with an admirable result, finishing fourth overall behind winners Ethiopia (30), Kenya (34) and Uganda (39).  Left to right: Jacob Kiplimo, Daniel Simiu Ebenyo & Tadese Worku // Photo via Jan Figueroa The U.S. men, racing on home soil in a world championship for the first time since 1992, were seventh in Belgrade, Serbia and sixth in Bathurst, Australia — the last two world competitions held in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The American's result on Saturday, then, was among their best in quite some time. Just over 7,500 fans showed up to watch, with many sporting costumes and waving flags bearing the distinction of their nations. According to Visit Tallahassee, around $5 million in economic impact is expected to drive from the event itself. Nearing 80 degrees and almost 100-degree humidity, the 22-year-old Wolfe and the 26-year-old Wesley Kiptoo spurred the U.S.contingent, claiming 12th- and 14th-place performances, while Graham Blanks was 19th and Nico Young was 39th. Ahmed Muhumed was 46th.  “I thought I could be top 20, top 15 maybe on a good day,” Wolfe said. “I was so close to top 10, I was so close to that top 10. I heard people saying it. I just had nothing left. Proud of the effort, for sure.”  Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, the winner of the last two world cross country championship races in 2023 and 2024, earned his trifecta on Saturday with a final time of 28 minutes and 18 seconds (solidifying his place as an all-timer in the format). Meanwhile, Berihu Aregawi led the Ethiopian men in the team results, claiming a second-place nod just 18 seconds later. Frenchmen Yann Schrub was the first European across the line in 11th.  What preceded the American finishes, however, was some unfortunate news. The U.S. was dealt a blow less than 24 hours before race time when Wake Forest athlete Rocky Hansen, who finished second at the U.S. Championships in December, opted against competing after picking up an undisclosed ailment. The decision prevented the U.S. from bringing in a replacement and meant that the team raced with just five men on the line. As for the conditions, Wolfe relayed that the race, which saw athletes traverse mud, water, sand, hurdles and a 14-foot ramp, became increasingly difficult with each passing lap on the 2,000-meter course. “It got really hard. It was hot. It was one of the hardest efforts I’ve ever had,” he said.  Wolfe arrived in the northwestern Florida city from Flagstaff, Arizona, where he said the temperatures were “30 degrees.” Save for a couple days in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he trained for a short stint, he said the day harkened back to his NCAA Championship in 2023 in Charlottesville, Virginia, when temperatures also played a difference.  Elsewhere, the championship spurred reflection from Blanks, a former NCAA champion and Olympian. He left feeling a bit bittersweet about his outcome. “I feel like I’m at a point in my career where I’m at the bottom of the food chain,” he said. “I’m having a hard time dealing with that because I go into every race with the intention to win. When you have that mentality and you’re not on that level to do so — my mentality is not matching reality right now. I guess it’s a good problem to have.” A Return To Tallahassee, And Good Vibes On the early morning bus ride to Apalachee Regional Park, Linden Hall was deep in her feelings. Deep in nostalgia. Deep in past memories. She opened her iPhone and searched for a newly-created race day mix, then hit play.  Out came Katy Perry’s “ Roar ” and Ke$ha’s “ Tik Tok ” – songs released over a decade earlier in 2013 and 2009.  The familiarity didn’t go unnoticed, because for Hall, a three-time Olympian who raced at Florida State from 2011-2014 , it reminded her quite fondly of a college career that provided her so much success. “I felt like I had a thousand dress rehearsals,” she said of the ARP course. “Even though it was 10 years ago, it came right back. It was nice.”  Those positive vibrations remained in the mixed relay, where Hall combined with Oli Hoare, Jack Anstey and Jessica Hull to secure Australia the victory in 22:23, giving the Aussies a three-second cushion over France.  Two years earlier, Australia didn’t even field a team.  Jessica Hull crosses the finish line to give Australia's mixed relay team gold at the World XC Championships // Photo via Jan Figueroa Turns out, there’s a story behind that, too. Hall spent months advocating the Australian athletics federation to send a team to Tallahassee. “Every time I would see the right person, I would say, ‘ Tallahassee, Tallahassee . We’ve got to send a team. I gotta go. I have to be there.’ Maybe they listened. Or maybe it’s the fact that we have such great depth – men’s and women’s, 1,500m, 5k, 800m as well. Having the numbers, it was stupid not to send a team. We rallied off each other.”  Elsewhere, the U.S. foursome of Ethan Strand, Sage Hurta-Klecker, Wes Porter and Gracie Morris were fifth. The U.S. women, meanwhile, scored two top 20 finishes on their way to a fourth-place finish, led by Ednah Kurgat, who finished 10th overall. “I just wanted to run my own race, start off conservative and try to catch up in the end,” she said.  Kurgat’s strategy worked perfectly. After navigating her first lap in 19th, she steadily picked off runners, moving up to 12th by the 6k mark and finishing inside the top 10.  Karissa Schweizer was 17th and Katie Izzo was 24th while NC State’s Grace Hartman rounded out the scoring in 32nd. Weini Kelati, a top 10 finisher in Serbia in 2024, struggled over the final 2,000 meters and finished 40th.  Like Kurgat, Schweizer’s experience paid off. Seven years earlier, in her last trip to world cross country, she was 56th in Aarhus, Denmark. On Saturday, she knew to be patient. “Everyone just went for it and you’re just like, ‘OK,’” she said. “You kind of find yourself in no man’s for a little bit. I knew myself and I couldn’t go right out of the back. They’ll come back to me. I fought for every spot.” The U.S. Under-20 Squad Bags Podium At The World Cross Country Championships One of the worst possible situations befell Tyler Daillak on lap two of the men’s under-20 race. His shoe, already untied from the previous water pit, now was fully off after traversing through the mud. “I was like, ‘uh oh,’” he said.  But Daillak, a Cal Poly freshman who ran unattached in 2025, didn’t panic. He kept racing. Kept his head in the zone. “My coach told me what to do,” said Daillak, who qualified for Foot Locker XC National Championships as a high school senior for San Luis Obispo Paso Robles in 2024. “(He said), ‘Expect a good result, but plan – mentally be prepared and envision the race before going bad. You want to stay calm.’” Tyler Daillak competing in the U20 race at the World XC Championships // Photo via Jan Figueroa Daillak was 31st after the first kilometer, then worked his way up to 20th by the end of the first lap. He didn’t lose ground at any point afterward – despite, you know, having only one shoe on for the remaining 4,000 meters – and finished 16th overall, the top American finisher. His performance highlighted a U.S. foursome that finished 34 seconds apart and produced the only podium finish of the day. Two-time national champion Jackson Spencer was 18th in 25:00 while Daniel Skandera was 19th (25:02) and Aidan Torres was 22nd (25:20).  In the women’s under-20 6,000-meter race, Nike Cross Nationals runner-up Blair Bartlett – a first-year runner from The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey – was the top finisher, crossing the line in 20:36. “My strategy was just to get out there and race,” she said.

Join us for another episode of Beyond the Stride featuring CSU Pueblo’s Helen Braybrook, the D2 indoor mile record holder! 🔥👟 On this episode of Beyond the Stride, Lauren sits down with Braybrook to talk about a little bit of everything — from her record-breaking performance at the BU season opener to the confidence, patience, and belief that fueled it. Helen opens up about trusting her coach, navigating races against D1 competition, and what it means to proudly represent Division II on a national stage. 🌎 Does Braybrook see herself racing the mile more this season? How has her 800-meter speed translated so seamlessly to longer distances? What has changed mentally for her as a championship racer, and what does success look like heading into her final collegiate season? 🤔 Helen answers all of those questions and much more on our latest episode of Beyond the Stride. Be sure to watch, like, and subscribe! 🏃‍♀️💨 🗣️ Hosted by Lauren Cawley Be sure to like/follow/subscribe/comment on all of podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube! You can find our other episodes there as well.