UMASS Amherst Running Club

I don't go to Umass so I can't be sure, but I wouldn't completely rule out walking on. I assume you still have your outdoor season coming up, so you have some good chances to run PRs if you're healthy and all. Your times aren't too slow for D1 to be completely ruled out.

My advice to you would be this; if you have a desire to run on a D1 team, work hard and go for it. Shoot for good times outdoors this spring, and work hard over the summer, probably harder than you ever worked in high school. Contact the coaches soon, maybe after a good race or something. Let them know that you are interested and see if they will consider letting you "try out". Most coaches will just have you run with the team for the first week or so at practice and see if you can hang. If you show at least some ability to stick with the team on runs and show a strong desire to be on the team and work hard, they may let you on. I'm currently a freshman at a mid level D1 school (Patriot League, don't want to say the specific school) and I didn't think I would be good enough to run D1 (very similar high school PRs to yours) but it ended up working in my favor.

It seems like you still want the high level of competition and to train with fast runners, but if you do end up deciding just to have fun with it and join the club team, it will probably be a lot more like a high school program but of course you will have a much greater role in deciding your training and what races to run/when you want to race.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, and if you decide you want to try to run D1, it might be tough but with hard work it can be within reach.

Zoomass Slamhurst has a terrible running program. I am sure you would be able to walk on. As far as getting better...? it's a good thing they have good academics.

Assachusetts wrote:

Zoomass Slamhurst has a terrible running program. I am sure you would be able to walk on. As far as getting better...? it's a good thing they have good academics.

Ha ha ha ha, good one

Hey man, I was in your position two years ago, just slower. I ran 4:52 / 10:31 in high school. I contacted the coach even though I knew it was a long shot, too long. He shot me down pretty quickly, but you're significantly quicker so you probably have a chance. I would say if you end up running like 4:35, you'll have a pretty decent shot.

Now, as far as the running club goes; they're are some great people in the club, but I can tell you it's not super competitive. Almost definitely a few notches below what you're experiencing in high school. People just sorta show up when they feel like it. There is usually a track workout every Wednesday, and the club attends probably four or so races each semester (a couple club xc meets (8k), a few local 5ks, and the Amherst 10 miler). They're are also plenty of other local races that you could attend on your own, trail races too if you're into that. I also believe they're a couple open indoor meets at Smith college nearby (flat track).

In terms of how fit people are, they usually run anywhere from 3-10 miles a day in the early evening, typically at 6:30-8 min pace. Most of them are running faster than they probably should be, but I guess that's because most only run 3-4 times a week. I think at the moment there are a couple sub 17 5k guys in the club and a bunch of 18-20min types, but don't quote me on that. Long story short, you'll have good company and conversation for your easy-medium effort days, but will probably want to do more stuff on your own.

I haven't been in over a year due to a knee injury that I'm just starting to recover from, so maybe things have changed a little, but probably not too much.

Dear lord, I apologize for my horrifying use of "they're".

Reach out to Coach O'Brien and ask what would be needed for walk-on status. He's a pretty easy guy to talk to IMHO.

Head Coach (M) Track & Field/XC: Ken O’Brien •

kobrien@admin.umass.edu

• 413-545-0097

The Atlantic 10 conference isn't one of the top tier XC/TF conferences in the nation, but they put out some decent performances from time to time. Not sure which elite private schools you looked that, but if they were Ivy League, I know A10 is not as competitive as them.

I got no interest from their coach despite being a 1:59/4:26/9:36 guy, sent emails and called more than once but no dice. From what I heard, the coach isn't big on the whole technology thing, so perhaps its my fault, but I think you'll be fine. The club scene is huge in Mass: there's plenty of NIRCA XC meets and lots of indoor club meets in Boston. UMass is a big school, just post in the FB groups and you'll easily be able to find runners around your skill level and if a club already exists, join it.

gordontremeshko wrote:

I got no interest from their coach despite being a 1:59/4:26/9:36 guy, sent emails and called more than once but no dice. From what I heard, the coach isn't big on the whole technology thing, so perhaps its my fault, but I think you'll be fine. The club scene is huge in Mass: there's plenty of NIRCA XC meets and lots of indoor club meets in Boston. UMass is a big school, just post in the FB groups and you'll easily be able to find runners around your skill level and if a club already exists, join it.

Obbies a douche. No good runners out of there since Randy Thomas, 40-plus years ago.

Join a club over at Smith College, and try to hook up with a horny straight one.