Is it really worth being a professional distance runner in the USA??

There are quite a few I am sure.....Off hand I can only think of Henry Rono with his alcohol battles...I guess the downside to being an extreme personality type is that it works both ways...

Yeah, home ownership is the ultimate dream for everyone.

Trex123 wrote:

I mean even for the top runners what can you hope to make annually after you retire??

Most distance runners peak-out before 35, so what could you hope to make for the next 35 years of your life?

I mean for runners like Jorge Torres or Adam Goucher what could these guys be except shoe sales men? Maybe move up to assistant manager of a shoe store?? Work at the Boy's and Girl's club? I know these guys went to college, but when you've spent the better part of your life running and not building up a skill that's useful in the real world, what could you hope to do?

In the real world, it is often who you know instead of what you know. Most of these high level professional runners make contacts with a lot of heavy hitters in the business world. They make contacts with people who can create jobs for them for whatever they want. Granted these runners may not become a CPA or an attorney, but they will find employment in other places (not a shoe store or Boys' and Girls' club).

If you want to talk about athletes who have no real job skills than lets talk about the NBA or NFL. Most of the guys who retire from these leagues are broke 5 years out of the league with little to no education. You rarely hear about a former elite runner who is broke and being sued because of unpaid debts.

Most of the elite runners have college degrees to fall back on. Work experience is great, but it cannot hurt you to walk into a job interview with OLYMPIAN on your resume.

Granted they maybe world renown and have information available about them in the public domain but I am sure if you dug around you would find many examples of athletes who have gone on to have successful careers in all sorts of fields....

My opinion that being involved in distance running at that levels will help you more than hinder you.. You develop good skills, travel the world and finish being satisfied that you gave it your best shot - (I am sure there are plenty on this board who have regrets about not sticking at it long enough)

I would say that distance runners in general will probably have more successful lives than the average population...

Trex decking wrote:

Yeah, home ownership is the ultimate dream for everyone.

Well being able to buy a decent meal is too, when you're eating cornflakes for dinner.

Trex123 wrote:

I use to think like that in high school until I realized in college that I need to pay bills and buy a place to house myself. I love to run but its a waste of time if I have to eat rice and beans when I'm 65.

That's basically my perspective as well. Money isn't the most important thing to me, but I do realize to sustain a family, go on vacation, and provide nice things for my children I want to make $100K+. I think if you have a Stanford degree- even if 20yrs later, even if you have yet to use it- it's still worth something.

European wrote:

Granted they maybe world renown and have information available about them in the public domain but I am sure if you dug around you would find many examples of athletes who have gone on to have successful careers in all sorts of fields....

My opinion that being involved in distance running at that levels will help you more than hinder you.. You develop good skills, travel the world and finish being satisfied that you gave it your best shot - (I am sure there are plenty on this board who have regrets about not sticking at it long enough)

I would say that distance runners in general will probably have more successful lives than the average population...

I understand. I just don't see how traveling the world relates to job skills in the real world. Yes you interact with different peoples, but who doesn't? I've traveled too, but because I went on cruises and visited some countries doesn't make me more marketable. I hire people who know how to sell a product have a track history of selling successfully, have managed high profile accounts etc. I don't see how running will make me or my share holders money. How will your skills at running transition or make you stand out from hundreds of people who have spent the better part of their lives training for a specific job that you want but you've spent the better part of your life running.

I agree with you on that.

Ralphy wrote:

Trex123 wrote:

I use to think like that in high school until I realized in college that I need to pay bills and buy a place to house myself. I love to run but its a waste of time if I have to eat rice and beans when I'm 65.

That's basically my perspective as well. Money isn't the most important thing to me, but I do realize to sustain a family, go on vacation, and provide nice things for my children I want to make $100K+. I think if you have a Stanford degree- even if 20yrs later, even if you have yet to use it- it's still worth something.

I think after a certain point your degree doesn't hold as much water. The longer you wait the more outdated you become.

Even though you have a shiny degree you haven't invested it into more opportunities for growth. While thousands have invested their degree in growth the opportunities for you gets smaller.

Money isn't everything. Plenty of these guys get all-expense paid trips to Europe to do something they love. In their 20s! Who wouldn't love that?

Also, the vast majority of these people have COLLEGE DEGREES! So it's not like they'll be poor.

A friend of mine spent three years as a professional athlete, banked over $500,000 and is now working as a realtor. I'd say he made the right choice.

I feel bad for guys like Ryan Hall, Adam Goucher, or Jorge Torres because unless these guys come from a rich family or have wives who have great jobs, what can these guys hope to live on into their 50's? They made the sacrifice to run "professionally" (I put it in quotes because what does it really mean to run professionally and make high school wages) but what will they do later in life after their bodies age.

Granted - But there are not many jobs which require you to focus the better part of your life on to do them successfully.

Career development is more often than not sporadic and unpredictable with lots of twists and turns and ups and downs along the way.

Assuming you stop running at 35, you would still have 30 years to carve out a career. Most guys here in Europe study until they are in their late 20's and only then start working after that but by age 40 they are often way ahead of the guys who started at age 20..

Ok if you reference a friend at least give a name. Throwing out numbers and so called friends is like saying my PR in the 800 is 1:45 and I have 15 friends who also ran 1:46 and we run 5 min miles for our 10 mile runs. It means nothing without a name.

I am sure Ryan Hall does pretty well from his running career and if he has any intelligence which it appears he does he will invest some of that money wisely and then look at a new career in a few years time.

I have no idea what he makes a year but would estimate it to be at least 250k thats a lot of money for a guy his age and should easily compensate for the slightly lower slary he would need to get when he cahnges careers and has to catch up with his peers..

If you have to ask, you'll never know. It's not about the money.

You are incredibly narrow-minded. You think that your world view is the only view.

I do not dream of owning a home and all the liability that comes with it. I do not dream of having bills piling up to pay. I dream of taking life one day at a time and feel confident that everything will work out.

Not to mention that it doesn't seem to occur to you that runners have the ability to find a spouse that bares the brunt of the income. Yes, this works in both directions. Fam is the first male that comes to mind - his wife does very well, and that's how their dynamic works.

You need to get your head out of Leave it to Beaver.

Was looking for an example of a fireman but could not find one...

What does their career earning during their time as runners have to do with what they do after they retire? The average American will go through SEVEN different careers before they retire. So they dont make enough to retire on and have to move onto a different career field? They all have college degrees, they all love running, which is more than can be said about the average American in whatever career they are currently working in.

European wrote:

13) Filbert Bayi - Social upliftment

What kind of job is this? It sounds awesome. I was uplifting some people last night at the pub. How do I turn this around to make a ROI?