Running bums: Sad or Admirable?

Wrong Again wrote:

A lot of guys who run well but have no delusions of being Olympian or pro are going to cherish memories of their running in their late 20s or early 30s moreso than they're ever going to cherish memories of being, like, an accountant.

I'm sure those memories will keep those guys going as they punch a time clock at age 70.

Start early, retire early wrote:

Wrong Again wrote:

A lot of guys who run well but have no delusions of being Olympian or pro are going to cherish memories of their running in their late 20s or early 30s moreso than they're ever going to cherish memories of being, like, an accountant.

I'm sure those memories will keep those guys going as they punch a time clock at age 70.

Most of the other 70 year olds punching the time clock with them won't have those memories.

It's admirable. Life is about happiness. Do what makes you happy. If they are enjoying themselves and enjoying running than great.

On a more realistic note, I don't think they are sacrificing anything. So what they make $10 an hour rather than $40k at some some crappy post college job? The alternative to "running bum" is "corporate bum". Frankly, their accomplishments professionally will likely be even more meaningless than their running bum accomplishments.

Just like no one gives a damn about your running, no one gives a damn about your professional life/job either. Most will end up being meaningless cods in the corporate structure, which is in no way admirable.

While this may be pessimistic, it's really not. Instead what it means is to follow YOUR passions and not what your friend "Sad or Admirable" thinks your passions should be. End of story.

Decrepit Geezer wrote:

They're not sad and they're certainly not bums, by any twisted definition you wish to invent.

They're not wasting their youth. They're spending their youth doing something they enjoy.

They're not sacrificing anything. Careers are vastly overrated. Vastly.

Boom +1

Did you ever consider it's the process the enjoy and not the end goal? What exactly are you working your but off to achieve at your job? Retirement? So what you're working hard so you can stop working? Doesn't that feel a bit ironic?

Avocado's Number wrote:

(I think that the dominance of East Africans in running is largely a matter of extremely low opportunity costs associated with being a full-time runner).

Yes, me too ... I think a lot of the mystery of why East Africa is better than USA in distance running, becomes less mysterious when you consider it's just a much, much better career move in one place than the other.

heyyo wrote:

It's admirable. Life is about happiness. Do what makes you happy. If they are enjoying themselves and enjoying running than great.

On a more realistic note, I don't think they are sacrificing anything. So what they make $10 an hour rather than $40k at some some crappy post college job? The alternative to "running bum" is "corporate bum". Frankly, their accomplishments professionally will likely be even more meaningless than their running bum accomplishments.

Just like no one gives a damn about your running, no one gives a damn about your professional life/job either. Most will end up being meaningless cods in the corporate structure, which is in no way admirable.

While this may be pessimistic, it's really not. Instead what it means is to follow YOUR passions and not what your friend "Sad or Admirable" thinks your passions should be. End of story.

This! Maybe 1 in 100,000 will do something anyone other than close friends/family will care about. Do what makes you happy and if you can be happy running 1:10/2:30 and not making much money. Then do it! Just be honest with yourself and no illusions of grandeur. Otherwise you probably will wake up one day and think you pissed away your life.

m runner wrote:

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/10/286581857/the-ragged-edge-a-runner-chasing-greatness-finds-his-muse

This guy missed qualifying for the Olympic Trials by one second. He quit his post-collegiate job and works at a running store, so its sounds similar to the "bum" lifestyle mentioned here.

Thank you for the mention. I'm grateful to be a part of the NPR project!

I believe being a "running bum" is neither sad nor admirable.. I don't get how chasing dreams would be sad. However, it's a very selfish pursuit so I don't see it as admirable either.

I wouldn't trade my lifestyle for anything else at the moment. But I also realize my situation as a "running bum" is much better than others with similar PRs- BAA covers race entries, travel, and some gear. Obviously I don't make much money annually but I came out of college without any debt and luckily my rent is cheap for Boston.

All I know is that if I can't afford a house or a new car until 35, rather than 25, and haven't made it to the Olympics, I won't look back and regret the past 10+ years. I'll regret it if I don't give it my very best shot. I'm certain that there are guys with less talent than me that have run under 2:10. And my chances of doing that still might only be .1% on a good day, but I can't win if I don't play! And it's certainly been fun so far, to me anyways, to have lofty goals and passionate about achieving them.. even if I get let down every now and then

For most serious runners giving up the running lifestyle is very difficult. From the age 14 to 24 running was my life and almost everything I did revolved around the sport and getting better. However, two years out of college I had a heart to heart with myself and realized that while I may have the potential to get a little bit faster it was probably time to move on. Now at 26 I have a "real job" and still run about 60 miles a week to stay thin, it's about balancing your passions (running) with reality (most of us need to make money). But I will admit it was a real struggle finally letting go of my runner's lifestyle since it did, at least partially, represent my youth.

That being said I do find it sad when some people don't know when to let go. Two examples of this in my little circle of friends (1) A 25 year old guy with an ivy league degree and an MBA from a top school is now working at a running store to pursue his running goals. He's a fast runner but won't be an olympian. Spent all that money and time getting these awesome degrees but doesn't use them. (2) A 33 year old guy with prs of about 2:40/1:15 is working at a running store & living with his parents still pursuing his running goals. However to each his own.

I'm retiring at 59.

My Dad retired at 54. He's 77 now and as sharp as ever.

After graduation I had a real job for one year, which was boring as hell. I felt I'm dying inside. I decided to continue working there only part-time, while going back to work also part-time at the running store where I worked as a student. In addition, I do some coaching for recreational runners to get some extra money.

I make much less money now than I did working full-time in the real job, but I'm enjoying life so much more!

I don't really need money. I'm happy when my basic needs are fulfilled, and they include: sleeping, eating, and running.

I think running bums fall into the same category as ski bums; however, running bums are far less colorful and intriguing.

To each his own I guess. But take it from a guy who did the "running bum" thing for a while. Being poor and not having any disposable income gets very old once you hit 30.

Eric

Good luck at Boston next month! I always pull for guys like you to do well. Hopefully you'll get a decent weather day and roll well under 2:18.

Best of luck chasing the dream,

SF

Someone 4 years out of college going for a job interview:

Person A: Sits in soul-sucking cubeville gaining valuable "experience" doing shit work that any moron could do. Goes into an interview and does best impression of talking up that "valuable" 4-years experience in the "industry"...

Person B: Scrapes by "bumming" it, and misses qualifying for the trials by 1 second. Goes into an interview for first post-collegiate job and talks about the past 4 years of ridiculously hard work, and the lessons learned from being thisclose...

It's obviously a different story for a 3 hour marathoner or a 40 year old, but personally, I don't care either way. Do what makes you happy, it's none of my business.

I.C.Weiner wrote:

Someone 4 years out of college going for a job interview:

Person A: Sits in soul-sucking cubeville gaining valuable "experience" doing shit work that any moron could do. Goes into an interview and does best impression of talking up that "valuable" 4-years experience in the "industry"...

Person B: Scrapes by "bumming" it, and misses qualifying for the trials by 1 second. Goes into an interview for first post-collegiate job and talks about the past 4 years of ridiculously hard work, and the lessons learned from being thisclose...

It's obviously a different story for a 3 hour marathoner or a 40 year old, but personally, I don't care either way. Do what makes you happy, it's none of my business.

This is not an accurate depiction of either scenario.

Yes it is.

The majority of recent college grads are getting crappy jobs with crappy pay and crappy benefits.

And the majority of workers with less than 10 years experience are not likely to be seen as a more desirable employee than someone who has clearly demonstrated work ethic.

I disagree with your initial post.

I agree most recent college grads are getting shitty jobs today due to the job market but I do think that these college grads are more likely to land a better job four year down the line in a respective industry as compared to a guy who just worked part time at a running store and ran a lot.

For example, let's say we have two women. Both women majored in business, went to similarly ranked universities and ran cross country & track in college. One of the women decided to take a somewhat shitty job as a secretary for an energy company, a job that mostly requires taking phone calls. The other woman decided to go work at a running store while trying to become a olympic trials qualifier. Four years later these two women apply for a job at another energy company (let's say executive assistant) that is actually a decent job. Most bosses would rather hire the woman with some years of experience in the energy industry compared to the woman who happened to work hard in running post collegiate, especially since both woman were student-athletes in college and thus exhibited they are able to multi-task.

The fact is, in today's world chances are your first real job is going to be pretty shitty. But it's probably going to be better to take this shitty job at 22 compared to at 26 so by the time you hit 30 or so you can be well established in your chosen field and afford a nice house, car and other material stuff we tend to like. Now if these things aren't important to you and you just want to see how fast you can run then more power to you.

Nice house, nice car, material stuff, wow you really have the priorities in life figured out....

I'd totally stop doing something I enjoyed and go work a boring job so that I can afford to buy a Honda Accord EX for $30k instead of a Honda Civic LX for $18k.

Do you realize how little difference the extra 5 years of work experience will make in the grand scheme? Even if you care about material things, the marginal difference is so small between what could afford at 30 after being a running bum versus after working 5 extra years.

Are you really going to sacrifice chasing your dreams, just so you can make something like 5% more over your life? Sure it adds up, but its never going to change your life, you'll be in the same tax bracket and apart of the same economic class either way. Now if we were talking about the difference between being a regular Joe Schmo Middle Management Cod or being something like a CEO you might have a worthwhile argument. Unfortunately the forces that propel people into having extra-ordinary professional careers are determined long before early 20's.

This is all of course accepting your theories on career progression, which are probably a bit outdated. Now a days its much more about what you know rather than how many years of experience you have doing the same thing over and over. Sure what you know may increase with years of experience, but not by much. Most people spend 5 years doing something really repetitive and learning very little. Those skills they acquired can easily be picked up by any motivated individual in a quarter of the time.