The depressing reality of college runners

48 wrote:

I thought about your contribution.

And what came to mind was this . There once was a runner who at the age of 18 ran the 440 in 54.6 880 in 2:05 mile in 4:41 at 19 880 2;03, MILE 4;38 5 years later he would run a WR in the mile.

Another runner ran 440 in 54 and 4:40 mile in HS would later go on and set several ARs at a varying distances. He would become a bronze medalist and 4 time olympian.

Another ran 4:35 in HS he would become a two time olympian and finish fourth in the OG marathon.

Another runner with PRs of 4:32 and 9;32 would go to earn a gold and silver medals in successive games

A good club runner with a PR of 14:05.4 would burst onto the scene with a 2:09:12 and two championship wins.

What's my point? What did they all have in commo? An absolute passion for what they were doing. A curiosity of how far could they go?, An unshakeable belief in themselves . No matter what this guy achieves or not he wins because he will have learned many lessons in the journey and networking along the way. He will do more than cope when it is all said and done.

Depressing Reality wrote:

So I recently saw the social media profile of a D1 college runner and went down the rabbit hole of researching him and it left me feeling a little depressed.

So this guy appears to have been running super high mileage from a young age, with a 5k time of around 15:10 at age 14. He then stagnated, failing to improve at all over the next 2 years. Fast forward a couple more years and he's improved slightly, and gets a scholarship to a D1 US college.

He seemed to be doing pretty well there, got a 14:10 5k in Spring 2024. But the thing you need to know about this guy is that he is OBSESSED with trying to maximize his running performance. He runs 100 miles a week, does all the popular fads (double thresholds, lactate testing), and reads all the academic literature. Recently he made an instagram post detailing a workout he did and said he took bicarb before the workout, go figure. He is totally maxed out. There is nothing else he can do to improve his performance.

In spite of all this, his best result was only around 14:10 again in the 2025 outdoor season. He still has two years of college left so has time to improve, but imagine the pressure this kid must be under. Especially from the college and coaches that have invested tremendous resources in him. And of course he is majoring in EXERCISE SCIENCE... because why have a backup plan when you are hellbent on becoming a career athlete?

He made another post on instagram recently talking about all the work he's put into the sport and how it might not pay off now or in a year but that it will pay off 'eventually'. It feels like he's in denial and trying to cope with his situation.

It just put things into perspective for me that there are hundreds of kids just like this guy who are convinced they are going to become Olympians but then hit their ceiling midway through college and the money eventually dries up and they are dumped on their asses after graduation, left to fend for themselves in the civilian world.

Aouita 84 wrote:

Former D1 wrote:

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.

If success in your life is dependent on "generational wealth", or obtaining any level of "wealth", I feel sorry for you. The "Process" of becoming and being a D-1 runner is where the true "wealth" is earned, and if you believe that becoming a professional athlete and earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team is "meaningless", or doesn't change your life in anyway (including financially), you're misinformed.

48 wrote:

I thought about your contribution.

And what came to mind was this . There once was a runner who at the age of 18 ran the 440 in 54.6 880 in 2:05 mile in 4:41 at 19 880 2;03, MILE 4;38 5 years later he would run a WR in the mile.

Another runner ran 440 in 54 and 4:40 mile in HS would later go on and set several ARs at a varying distances. He would become a bronze medalist and 4 time olympian.

Another ran 4:35 in HS he would become a two time olympian and finish fourth in the OG marathon.

Another runner with PRs of 4:32 and 9;32 would go to earn a gold and silver medals in successive games

A good club runner with a PR of 14:05.4 would burst onto the scene with a 2:09:12 and two championship wins.

What's my point? What did they all have in commo? An absolute passion for what they were doing. A curiosity of how far could they go?, An unshakeable belief in themselves . No matter what this guy achieves or not he wins because he will have learned many lessons in the journey and networking along the way. He will do more than cope when it is all said and done.

Depressing Reality wrote:

So I recently saw the social media profile of a D1 college runner and went down the rabbit hole of researching him and it left me feeling a little depressed.

So this guy appears to have been running super high mileage from a young age, with a 5k time of around 15:10 at age 14. He then stagnated, failing to improve at all over the next 2 years. Fast forward a couple more years and he's improved slightly, and gets a scholarship to a D1 US college.

He seemed to be doing pretty well there, got a 14:10 5k in Spring 2024. But the thing you need to know about this guy is that he is OBSESSED with trying to maximize his running performance. He runs 100 miles a week, does all the popular fads (double thresholds, lactate testing), and reads all the academic literature. Recently he made an instagram post detailing a workout he did and said he took bicarb before the workout, go figure. He is totally maxed out. There is nothing else he can do to improve his performance.

In spite of all this, his best result was only around 14:10 again in the 2025 outdoor season. He still has two years of college left so has time to improve, but imagine the pressure this kid must be under. Especially from the college and coaches that have invested tremendous resources in him. And of course he is majoring in EXERCISE SCIENCE... because why have a backup plan when you are hellbent on becoming a career athlete?

He made another post on instagram recently talking about all the work he's put into the sport and how it might not pay off now or in a year but that it will pay off 'eventually'. It feels like he's in denial and trying to cope with his situation.

It just put things into perspective for me that there are hundreds of kids just like this guy who are convinced they are going to become Olympians but then hit their ceiling midway through college and the money eventually dries up and they are dumped on their asses after graduation, left to fend for themselves in the civilian world.

truth hurts wrote:

48 wrote:

I thought about your contribution.

And what came to mind was this . There once was a runner who at the age of 18 ran the 440 in 54.6 880 in 2:05 mile in 4:41 at 19 880 2;03, MILE 4;38 5 years later he would run a WR in the mile.

Another runner ran 440 in 54 and 4:40 mile in HS would later go on and set several ARs at a varying distances. He would become a bronze medalist and 4 time olympian.

Another ran 4:35 in HS he would become a two time olympian and finish fourth in the OG marathon.

Another runner with PRs of 4:32 and 9;32 would go to earn a gold and silver medals in successive games

A good club runner with a PR of 14:05.4 would burst onto the scene with a 2:09:12 and two championship wins.

What's my point? What did they all have in commo? An absolute passion for what they were doing. A curiosity of how far could they go?, An unshakeable belief in themselves . No matter what this guy achieves or not he wins because he will have learned many lessons in the journey and networking along the way. He will do more than cope when it is all said and done.

They simply put had the genetics that enabled them to go that far. No matter how hard you train, those starting numbers are the genetic ceiling for numerous of runners.