A Few Notes

So I wanted to take this time to note a couple things.

First off, I wanted to describe the top 50 rankings I will begin putting together later this week. Basically I'll be looking at runners from the window 2004-2014 (a period during which I have plenty of raw data and accurate sources to gather times and research from). Basically anyone between the classes of 2004 and 2014 (inclusive) will be eligible for the list. That means guys who are class of 2015 and after will not be included (i.e. Kev James, Colin Abert, Zach Brehm etc.). If you would like to submit some names for consideration feel free to comment below!

The basic outline of criteria I will use for my rankings:
1) State Championships- These are the most important stat for me, more important than times or marks like that .. Relay performances and team xc titles count for state championships, but individual titles will be weighted more heavily in my mind .. National titles and Penn Relays titles will also be considered as impressive achievements but will not be as important as state titles
2) All Time Marks/PA ranking- State records and state meet records both indoors, outdoors and on the xc state course are quite important as well. Also where times rank on my All-Time list is important. If you can show excellent range across a variety of disciplines that is a boost. Again relays are considered here, but are not as important as open marks. Splits too are considered.
3) Overall dominance and consistency- The most important goal of a season is to win in XC and to win the outdoor state championship. However, runners run year round and race all the time and those performances can be important in shaping a runners historic perception. District titles, impressive battles against rivals, large margins of victory and wow type marks are very important in creating an image. Signature moments of team work, willingness to sacrifice and excelling in off events are credible sources for increasing ranking. Also having a particularly impressive kick or memorable highlight from a big time race can boost your stock in my eyes.
4) Good old fashioned subjectivity- This is not a formulaic method or anything close, at the end of the day the eye test plays a big role and some biases come into play. I will do my best to be objective but is impossible not to have my own personal opinions influence my list. I hope you can still enjoy it and have a healthy debate.

Some biases I have that I will point out now just so all cards are on the table:
I like XC better than track, I was an 800m man at heart
I ran for Upper Dublin high school, Suburban One American and District One PA
I ran for Muhlenberg College in the Centennial Conference
I began following track religiously at some point in 2008, my best knowledge window is probably 2009-2011ish, but I still consider myself very knowledgeable about 2007-2014 with somewhat knowledgeable about 2004-2007 being my reasonably unhumble diagnosis of my abilities

So hopefully that clears up the list! Submit your names because I am going to need 50! And that's a lot more than you think. I'll be researching on my own and starting to put some things down on paper. It may take a while, but we have the whole summer I suppose.

Also I just wanted to let you all know that beginning next month, I won't be leaving in PA anymore. I graduated college this year and finished my track career about 2 weeks ago running the 800 one final time. I'll be moving to Long Island, NY which will be a big change for me and hopefully won't put me too far out of the PA scoop, but you never know.

Anyway if things start to fall off it will probably be because of things like having a real job and planning out my life over the next couple years and paying bills and fun grown up stuff like that. Just to keep you guys in the loop. The parents out there who read my stuff know what I'm talking about way better than I do so yeah.

Stay Classy and hook me up with names, splits and arguments.

Talk to you chaps soon
train