A former colleague of mine wrote a wonderfully informative piece on the recruiting process for track and field and cross country several years ago for Runner's World. There is a wealth of information in the article. Even though it was written a few yeas ago, his advice is spot on to the day.  The only part of the article that is dated is the one paragraph referencing July 01 as D-Day - this is no longer the case with the change of NCAA Rules. 

http://www.runnersworld.com/rt-web-exclusive/a-guide-to-the-college-recruitment-process