So true. Having been raised in the same area I can't imagine her parents considering a low tier school or placing athletics before academics.
So true. Having been raised in the same area I can't imagine her parents considering a low tier school or placing athletics before academics.
It really is a personal decision.
I found I could not express myself just through running. In fact, I liked being a good student much more (4:08 miler in high school with high grades and scores, so could go anywhere at the time). Maybe a little bit of regret at not running as seriously as I should have in college? Yes, but I am really happy I did statistically better in academics than in running.
I did go to Georgetown for graduate school. The education is rigorous (I assisted with an undergrad class), and the students are very bright, and so is the socialization challenge. These things matter to an upper middle class kid from Westchester County. I hope she enjoys herself and her youth. Like it or not, she is not compelled to run for a living.
Alanson wrote:
Pick the school with the highest elevation . e.g. Northern Arizona - 7000 ft. Coaching is secondary. And don't pick Boulder, that extra 2000 ft is huge.
Yeah. Its not like you can drive up Boulder Canyon and be at 7000 feet in 15 minutes ! Or 8000. Or 9000 in 30 minutes.
The best thing she can do for herself for the next few years is to "be a kid". Once she hits her 20's, she'll have to "be an adult"--if money is her main motivation.
I'd recommend she go to a state university where there are many other very bright kids...forget the arrogance of the ivy leagues. If she uses the state school to "explore" lots of disciplines she might find something that really excites her interests...something she can use when her running days end. My recommendation would be somewhere like Oregon--it just seems like the perfect fit for a kid like her, much like it was for Jordan Hasay.
Original Gangsta wrote:
If she runs in the NCAA it'll be at UO. Otherwise she's going to attend either UP or Portland State part time while training with Alberto.
I really can't imagine her not cashing in now. Skipping even one year of $500,000+ is a very bad business decision.
If she's going to go this route, she should go to Reed.
I agree w/ education, but at the same time she is already world class. My solution is that she goes to Stanford. They're one of the top academic schools in the nation and a undergrad from there has much value. Having this said they also put much interest into running. The town has a great running community. This means they would be able to have the best athletic/academic balance for her. Salazar can send the coach there training plans (like he already does w/ her trainer in NY which has worked fine) and she will be able to run w/ some of the guys slower guys in there program. She's use to NY weather which is a little rough, Stanford has some of the best weather in the country. I advise she goes to college for 1 year, win some NCAA titles, and then starts professionally. This way she'll have that college experience under her belt. It also works out because the following year will be an olympic year and Salazar will want to focus heavily on that. Lets be real here guys, an education at UP or Portland State is not of her academic calaber. She's far too bright for that. One more advantage of Stanford and California in general. There's the Stanford Invite, MT Sac, Payton Jordan, and Oxy HP right in her backyard w/ Oregon Relays, Portland Track Festival, PRE, and Demsey in UW right up her street. It's a very convinient part of the country for her to be. I feel this would optimally be the best solution for now, but only her parents know everything behind the scenes and the depth of this decision. I'm just stating an opinion, but prayers go out to them for all the pressure that must come along w/ this!
I wouldn't be surprised if she became an Eric Heiden type (getting his BS close to 26 from Stanford) and becoming an MD like her father (Columbia med school). Then again, I really have no idea and just like doing all this silly speculation.
Maybe one year of NCAA for the experience, with an agreement that she will not be over raced. Then continue her education and be coached by Salazar as a professional after that.
Obviously it will be her decision, and I wish her the best.
Don't forget Gunnison and Alamosa.
Alanson wrote:
Pick the school with the highest elevation . e.g. Northern Arizona - 7000 ft. Coaching is secondary. And don't pick Boulder, that extra 2000 ft is huge.
letsadvisemarycain wrote:
Original Gangsta wrote:If she runs in the NCAA it'll be at UO. Otherwise she's going to attend either UP or Portland State part time while training with Alberto.
I really can't imagine her not cashing in now. Skipping even one year of $500,000+ is a very bad business decision.
If she's going to go this route, she should go to Reed.
Interesting idea. Friend of mines kid is going there next year.
This is my guess: She's already narrowed it down to a narrow list, and she is going to go where her heart tells her to go.
Yes, they seriously do not have a track. There is a track they don't own just north of campus (if I remember correctly) that's about 300 meters (four lanes, again if I remember correctly) that they can sometimes use. There is a nice park system for workouts they use. There is a Flotrack WOW during XC season, about two years ago, where they talk about this.But the proof is in the pudding. Here's the Georgetown Athletic Facilities webpage:http://www.guhoyas.com/site-map/gu-site-map.html
as'd;l23=-04s';[dr wrote:
Montesquieu wrote:Third, Georgetown does not have a track.
Do they seriously not have a track? How do they train?
LOLololOLLOLLOl wrote:
If Salazar to coach her, why not just turn pro and still attend school? What are the benefits of running in the NCAA for her? Training partners maybe? (Serious question, not trying to be snarky).
You're right. I just don't get this obsession people have with running in college.
She can turn pro and strike while the iron is hot. Who knows? In three years her running career can be over.
What benefit will running in college provide?
runn wrote:
LOLololOLLOLLOl wrote:If Salazar to coach her, why not just turn pro and still attend school? What are the benefits of running in the NCAA for her? Training partners maybe? (Serious question, not trying to be snarky).
You're right. I just don't get this obsession people have with running in college.
She can turn pro and strike while the iron is hot. Who knows? In three years her running career can be over.
What benefit will running in college provide?
__
I think the point of running in the NCAA at least freshman year would be to help her transition into a mature woman and not force her to be a professional athlete before she is ready.
Having to run fast for your supper, and having everything you do analyzed critically is not the hardest thing in the world, but it can be a shock for someone who might never have had a job.
For example, say she doesn't PR at 1500 for a couple years, or gets hurt and doesn't bounce back...the critics would be more vicious if she were a pro athlete.
No one thinks longer term than Salazar, and he cares about having good people on his team. If her parents and Al Sal and MC agree that a transition year of running NCAA would be wise, then I can understand that.
The chance to be a college kid, have a team experience, run/train with girls she has something in common with.
Lot of value there, especially for a girl who (by all reports) is not in desperate need of the cash.
I think she goes to college now, and runs, for a year or 2.
Jerkimer Jackson wrote:
I think she will eventually settle on Oregon. Why? Because it is only an undergrad degree that she will be working on while she's competing. She can get a higher degree later, from an Ivy League school if she wishes. It she went to Oregon, she could do what she loves (running) for the best in the country and she could be making connections to turn pro after about three years (a lot of the Oregon people are starting to do this). The final reason is that she could make a lot of money as a 21 year old pro, money she might not ever make in her chosen profession, meanwhile she could experience three years of the fun and growing of college life without the undo stress of an Ivy League type school.
Running against college runners will offer her zero competition. She already has the 2nd best college time ever, and she's just a junior in high school. Maybe run college for a year, just for the experience. Unless something happens to her, she will be WAY ahead of where Webb was when he went to Michigan.
The Georgetown track team tweeted on May 7 that Allyson Felix did a workout on their track. I don't know if they technically own it, but clearly it's good enough for them to win a NCAA title in cross country and produce a NCAA individual champion in the last couple of years.
If she's going to even run in college she's going to go somewhere where the training is similar to what she's already doing. She'll take a look at a couple Ivies probably like Princeton but i honestly believe if she ends up running in college she will go to a school like Villanova if not Villanova itself or like Georgetown. While it's no Ivy, Villanova is a very good academic school and in terms of running the training they do is very very similar to what Mary is doing now....quality over quantity. Low mileage and hard workouts and runs. And then Villanova is known for their mid-distance more than anything on both sides while still doing well in XC. She'd have great input from Gina and Marcus and I don't think her training would be changed all that much.
BUT there is NO WAY Gina would allow her to run for Villanova and have Alberto coach her instead of herself which in my opinion no coach with respect for themselves, their program and their training would allow Mary to do. You want to run in the NCAA then you run for the program and the coach you're at just like everyone else. Otherwise go pro.
they have a 4 lane - 320m track that is owned by DC.
something is better than nothing.
NCAA Nazi's don't have the power they think they have.
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"You want to run in the NCAA then you run for the program and the coach you're at just like everyone else. Otherwise go pro."