The depressing reality of college runners

I had a high jumper teammate who jumped 6-8 first indoor meet of freshman year. Made D3 All American outdoors that same year. Jumped 6-8 virtually every meet of his four-year career. Never higher. Almost never lower. Very hard worker, never a partier or a discipline problem. That was just his level.

This message is funny in an era where hundreds go sub-four every year and there are young lions all over the place running low 3:30s and challenging the best in the country for a spot in the finals of the US champs or even grabbing a spot over Olympic medalists.

There's a lot in here that I don't agree with. I don't think it's bad to go all in on "just" a 14:10 5k. I think people can be very happy chasing their running dreams. But I do think in the US, a lot of good athletes burn out after HS/college, where they're asked to race a ton & peak 3x/year. I think there's plenty of room in the sport for these guys to continue to run after college. Many don't. That's something to crowdsource & try to address. But I'm not for knocking someone for (cleanly) doing everything they can to get better, even if they don't have the genes to be world class. This is the kind of guy that'll OTQ in the marathon & it'll be one of the more inspiring stories that should be highlighted.

I've been thinking about this thread a bit, what to say to it. If collegiate running is a "depressing reality" to you, don't do it (unless you're getting paid to maybe). You can stay fit without being on a college team.

Your early 20s should be spent having fun before you enter the workforce. You'll never get so much unstructured free time again until you're old and retired (unless you have some 1 in a million idea that makes you rich). Not every run needs to be fun. Not every race needs to be fun. But if you aren't enjoying running in the long term, find something more fun to do.

More times than not I was glad I went to xc and track practices, was on a team, raced in meets, etc.

sounds a lot like that guy who just ran a 2:07 marathon. He worked his butt off in college, got all American in XC, but ended college with something in the 13:50s (I forgot what) . The way he was coached never really worked for him in college, but eventually he put 2 and 2 together

I don't have social media or follow people on social media, so I don't know what guy you're talking about, but I would say that anyone who doesn't consider running college XC and track as an end in and of itself should probably not do it... Obviously, you try to run as fast as you can and have as much success as you can, but you need to enjoy running and being a part of a team.

I know a few pro runners who are now in their later 40s. Some coach, but even becoming a pro and running on the USA Olympic team is not meaningfully changing your life in a material way. This isn't the NBA where you play for a few years and suddenly have generational wealth.

childhood buddy of mine, who rewrote our junior high track record book for distance, and was all state at soccer, told me after juco ended he hated organized sports. the people touting the work ethic of the OP don't get it. you have to "enjoy the thing" or it's likely going to be miserable. you will hit your limit. you will finish second or worse. you will stop imptoving. at that point you either like "track" or "running" or "soccer," or not. if not, i convinced my buddy to play 1 year of men's league soccer and that's the last organized sports he ever played after juco.

what kept me going was i simply enjoyed playing soccer or running.

all due respect to exercise science has options, i think we know that some OCD obsessive miserably trying to squeeze the last juice, either thinks they will be pro, and is using the major to inform their every second of the day, or thinks they will be a coach and he'll use them to figure out what he missed. they cannot be in it to radiate the joy they feel at the sport.

and to me to do quality training work at the college level, hours on a field, trails, road, track, and for it to be effective, you need to be having fun.

Your other points aside, and I understand what you are saying, there have been some pretty fast marathoners with 14:10 5k PRs... to either way, the dude seems to have found something he is passionate about and is living it. Good for him.

I was a lot better than the runner OP talked about in college.

Ran really well, was super focused on it for all of college. The sacrifices didn’t feel like it at the time. Running was so fun.

I got to the end of college, made second team all American a few times and got a job like everyone else.

A few of my teammates went pro, now they have jobs like everyone else.

I really do not understand how you can view college sports as depressing. It’s a blast.

Also, this kid from the first post will probably end up as a coach. Usually the route the good not greats that are obsessed go

Wejo was like this guy in college and he went on to place fourth in the 10K at USAs. Sometimes dreams do become reality.

Isn’t this just life in general?

Look st Bill Rodgers story. Honestly , this kid may be a 10k runner or even a marathoner someday. Does he love the sport enough to hang around until 25 at least. Maybe s different coach too

And if I did?

Glorified Personal Trainers.

Not a coach, not a former elite runner; just a guy who ran in high school with a 4:35 mile best and a lifelong love for the sport (and a son who turned out to be a lot faster and runs D1):

As a youth I saw a number of people who looked really promising at age 13, 14, 15. But running isn’t swimming, where you have to start early to build technique. It’s fitness and body type. And most of those early achievers eventually got caught up with or just leveled out.

As for this person, 14:10 is an excellent time for a mere mortal. It’s impressive that he works so hard at it, but it could be that he has simply reached his maximum potential. Nothing wrong with that.

How much sweat did he leave on the floor next to his Arc Trainer?

I’ve posted about this on here many times, but I see no problem with what the 14:10 “all in” runner OP is referring to is doing. There’s nothing quite like the running culture in high school and college, and, for most runners, college is the end of the line for being super serious. Might as well go all in and see how good you can be. Exercise science might seem like a fluff degree, and it kind of is, but it can also pave the way to physical therapy or medical school. Or, maybe this person wants to pursue the PhD.

Ultimately, it’s pretty simple. For all super serious runners, give it your all in high school, then college, and if you still have high aspirations, spend 2-3 years post collegiately chasing the dream and trying to PR and make an Olympic team and/or win some money on the roads. BUT, realize that this dream is over for 99.9% of us by age 25-26. And be realistic then and MOVE ON with your life if you can’t make a living doing it at that point.

25-26 is not too late to start a career or go to law school or even medical school. Basically what I did. I actually went to grad school to accommodate running but figured out by 25 that it was over, that I know longer enjoyed getting up at 6 am on Sunday to do a 20+ miler, that I needed to go get an advanced degree/career, and that I was tired of being skinny. So I stopped the quest, traveled, started lifting, and pursued my real career. Best decision I ever made. And I don’t regret any of it. I’m certainly don’t regret the years from 17-25 pursuing the running dream. But there has to be a hard stop, and mid-20s is it for *almost* everyone.

Solid post. You can afford to screw around for a few years after college but a five year plus gap with no work experience is pushing it.