Welcome back to The Stride Report's top-50 recruit rankings!

In our third edition for the Class of 2024, we ranked 50 of America's best boys and girls distance runners, offering "NCAA Comps" (current or past collegiates who we think these recruits mimic) as well as a few "Potential Fits" (possible schools that an athlete should / could consider based on location, skillset and a few other miscellaneous factors).

And just like last time, we have brief scouting analysis for each name who we ranked in this edition of our top-50 lists! For those who already had analysis, we made an effort to update their scouting reports if we thought it was necessary / applicable.

You'll also notice that our rankings feature a combination of middle distance runners and long distance specialists. It's admittedly a challenge to properly gauge recruiting value across different event areas, especially since middle distance talents don't always have the same event flexibility (or three-season value) that longer distance runners do.

Like all of our rankings, we looked at range, postseason success, intangibles, recent progress and, maybe most importantly, personal bests. Ultimately, hard decisions needed to be made and certain names had to be left off.

And to be clear, these rankings are NOT based on how someone did solely during a specific season. In many cases, an athlete may have had a less impressive season in comparison to someone else, but their resume as a whole became more well-rounded or simply remains as the stronger option.

There are also plenty of instances where someone is expected to be better during a certain season of competition compared to another. Just something to keep in mind as you read!