Jr. thinking about making a go at it for a bit after I graduate. What are the best town for track bums?

Nyc is cool if you wang a place with both track meets jobs and stuff to do

You could try giving a little more info... For example, are you looking to join a club or run on your own, what are you PRs, are you hoping to work a career job while running or just work at a shoe store part time, etc.

What's your running background/events? Greenville, Nashville and Atlanta could all be good spots for you.

Historian wrote:

What's your running background/events? Greenville, Nashville and Atlanta could all be good spots for you.

15 and the 5. Can you elaborate on those two places?

Also, I have no marketable skills career-wise, so working at a running store or whatever is ideal. (I have expereince with that.)

Alamosa. Altitude, outstanding track culture, no distractions. Cheap cost of living.

It's in a high mountain valley in Colorado. Colder than sh1t, but it doesn't snow much-it's a desert. The cold will toughen you up like nothing else.

what is unmarketable about the skills you learned on the way to graduating college?

anyway, portland and eugene have the best dope and TUE docs

little flock wrote:

what is unmarketable about the skills you learned on the way to graduating college?

Political science major.

You could go to law school or get a job in government

you need to GTFO of the southeast, that's for sure. unless you're a 100/200m guy.

get over to colorado/arizona/new mexico.

If you're committed to the southeast, here are a few recommendations:

1) Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC ("The Triangle"): Great places to run (Umstead Park, American Tobacco Trail, Duke Forest), competitive post-collegiates to run with (Bobby Mack, Stephen Fuerst, Tibor Vegh, Sandy Roberts, and some others), lots of job opportunities, several big invitational college track meets hosted by NC State, Duke, and UNC, and generally a great place to live. Generally a mild winter for training, and can get fairly hot and humid in the summer.

2) Asheville, NC - running scene is a bit less competitive, but still some solid guys, and the places to train there in the mountains are fantastic.

3) Greeneville, SC - check out Furman Elite

4) Charlottesville, VA - awesome trails in the mountains, great college town. Not sure what the competitive post-collegiate scene there is like these days - Ragged Mtn used to have some legit guys, but I haven't seen or heard anything out of them for a while.

Somebody mentioned Nashville - they have Scott Wietecha (who is a boss), but not much else after that. Not the best place to train IMO, and I've lived both there and in the Triangle.

In the book "Run with the Best" by Tony Benson and Irv Ray (sp?), they say you should plan on 10 years total of consistent training and competing as a minimum to expect to be national class. So 4 years HS, 4 years college, then 2 years post-collegiate. Regardless, if you get injured or are adjusting to a new training routine, then you might want to give yourself two years to "see what you can do". Find a competitive post-collegiate club with a coach that will work with you to continue training and competing (in the 1500 and 5000 or possibly a longer goal event). You might need to pay for a coach (beyond joining a club), and you'll get what you pay for. Don't DIY. The Raleigh area would be a good choice for jobs, location, weather, etc.

Track Bum wrote:

Historian wrote:

What's your running background/events? Greenville, Nashville and Atlanta could all be good spots for you.

15 and the 5. Can you elaborate on those two places?

That is three places, not two. I see what you mean about not having any marketable skills.

What is your 1500 PR? I can probably get you set up with a good group in Nashville depending on your speed.