as a few people have pointed out, this thread is about me
before i start, the op is a cat for not namedropping me – at least give me the attention ya flog.
he didn’t mention my age – i just turned 21 and i find it funny how i can be fully written off already. i haven’t hit my physical peak yet and i’ve only been running for 6 years.
my current prs are 14:10 for 5k and 3:47 for 1500m. i didn’t get a new 5k pb this past year but context is everything. i ran 14:10 at bryan clay in 2024 and came 9th in my heat. this year i ran 14:10 again, but it was at lee where i came 2nd (1st ran 14:05 and was an all-american in xc). it was also my first track season after transferring, and i still saw progression in my 1500m (a 1 second pr in 35°c heat). by the end of the season things were starting to click with the new training. i also dealt with iron issues and some mental health struggles. for me, staying steady through that and still racing well was progress. if the op really did his research he would have noticed a pattern in my running – i always plateau for 2 years before i improve. 14:47 in 2022, 14:43 in 2023, 14:10 in 2024, 14:10 again in 2025. this is just a trend i know but i do feel like i have progressed and i am super excited to show it next track season.
you know what’s funny about taking the mickey out of my pb and my work ethic – if you had told me in 2021, when i had just run 15:10 after 2 years of 80+ mile weeks, that i’d run 14:10 in my whole career, i would have been bloody stoked. same with the 1500 – i never thought i’d run sub 3:50. now i’m very confident i can dip under 14 and more. if i got hit by a car tomorrow and couldn’t run again, i’d be satisfied with my pbs. does that mean i don’t want to train hard and improve? of course not. but having that perspective has helped me keep things in context.
i don’t see myself as a 1500/5k guy long term. my build is better suited for xc, 10k, and eventually the marathon. i am naturally slow as bricks – i could barely break 30 seconds for 200m in high school. even now, with lightspeed work, plyometrics, and heavy compound lifting, i can still barely break 13 in a rolling 100. that’s going to hold me back in the shorter stuff. but i’ve never been injured doing dumb training – i ran 100 miles a week at 16 and 110–120 miles last xc season. i’m durable, and as the op mentioned, i do believe it will pay off in the long run over longer distances. this sport is all about stacking years on years and believing that it will work in the long run
op called me “obsessed.” i’ll own that. i love running. i love studying exercise science, testing things on myself and my athletes, reading research, seeing what works. i’ve never hidden that. it is what i have built my content around since i started posting in 2020
from this obsession ive been able to start a coaching business. i coach 13 athletes and helping them succeed is just as fulfilling as chasing my own pbs. one of my athletes, at 15, has already run 3:59 for 1500m. another ran 14:27 and earned a scholarship in the us. another debuted with a 2:29 marathon. coaching is something i’m super passionate about, and it’s already giving me a career path and some income while i’m studying. on my major – sure, exercise science gets called a “mickey mouse” degree, but it gives me options. i’m really into research, so i can see myself pursuing a master’s. i could also stay in the us and coach collegiately. i’ve worked a lot in running retail and would love to be a brand tech rep. one day i’d like to open a running store back home, but i want to do a lot more before that.
whether i ever run professionally or not, i’ll always pursue my own running. i find it sad how many people give it up after college. my love for the sport goes deeper than performance. of course i want to run fast and win races, but i simply love the process. running is an individual sport and i want to explore how good i can get.
i’m not naive about the odds. i know im not going to become an olympian. honestly i couldn’t care less. what matters to me is giving it a red hot crack and leaving no stone unturned. if i do that, i’ll be satisfied.
so yeah – i’m 21. i’m durable. i’m still progressing. i coach, i study, and i’m in this sport for the long run
let’s see how this xc season goes before writing me off
Hey Matt, just wanted to say as a washed up post collegiate still trying to beat my college PRs you're a huge inspiration man and love the videos. Keep grinding those double thresholds
as a few people have pointed out, this thread is about me
before i start, the op is a cat for not namedropping me – at least give me the attention ya flog.
he didn’t mention my age – i just turned 21 and i find it funny how i can be fully written off already. i haven’t hit my physical peak yet and i’ve only been running for 6 years.
my current prs are 14:10 for 5k and 3:47 for 1500m. i didn’t get a new 5k pb this past year but context is everything. i ran 14:10 at bryan clay in 2024 and came 9th in my heat. this year i ran 14:10 again, but it was at lee where i came 2nd (1st ran 14:05 and was an all-american in xc). it was also my first track season after transferring, and i still saw progression in my 1500m (a 1 second pr in 35°c heat). by the end of the season things were starting to click with the new training. i also dealt with iron issues and some mental health struggles. for me, staying steady through that and still racing well was progress. if the op really did his research he would have noticed a pattern in my running – i always plateau for 2 years before i improve. 14:47 in 2022, 14:43 in 2023, 14:10 in 2024, 14:10 again in 2025. this is just a trend i know but i do feel like i have progressed and i am super excited to show it next track season.
you know what’s funny about taking the mickey out of my pb and my work ethic – if you had told me in 2021, when i had just run 15:10 after 2 years of 80+ mile weeks, that i’d run 14:10 in my whole career, i would have been bloody stoked. same with the 1500 – i never thought i’d run sub 3:50. now i’m very confident i can dip under 14 and more. if i got hit by a car tomorrow and couldn’t run again, i’d be satisfied with my pbs. does that mean i don’t want to train hard and improve? of course not. but having that perspective has helped me keep things in context.
i don’t see myself as a 1500/5k guy long term. my build is better suited for xc, 10k, and eventually the marathon. i am naturally slow as bricks – i could barely break 30 seconds for 200m in high school. even now, with lightspeed work, plyometrics, and heavy compound lifting, i can still barely break 13 in a rolling 100. that’s going to hold me back in the shorter stuff. but i’ve never been injured doing dumb training – i ran 100 miles a week at 16 and 110–120 miles last xc season. i’m durable, and as the op mentioned, i do believe it will pay off in the long run over longer distances. this sport is all about stacking years on years and believing that it will work in the long run
op called me “obsessed.” i’ll own that. i love running. i love studying exercise science, testing things on myself and my athletes, reading research, seeing what works. i’ve never hidden that. it is what i have built my content around since i started posting in 2020
from this obsession ive been able to start a coaching business. i coach 13 athletes and helping them succeed is just as fulfilling as chasing my own pbs. one of my athletes, at 15, has already run 3:59 for 1500m. another ran 14:27 and earned a scholarship in the us. another debuted with a 2:29 marathon. coaching is something i’m super passionate about, and it’s already giving me a career path and some income while i’m studying. on my major – sure, exercise science gets called a “mickey mouse” degree, but it gives me options. i’m really into research, so i can see myself pursuing a master’s. i could also stay in the us and coach collegiately. i’ve worked a lot in running retail and would love to be a brand tech rep. one day i’d like to open a running store back home, but i want to do a lot more before that.
whether i ever run professionally or not, i’ll always pursue my own running. i find it sad how many people give it up after college. my love for the sport goes deeper than performance. of course i want to run fast and win races, but i simply love the process. running is an individual sport and i want to explore how good i can get.
i’m not naive about the odds. i know im not going to become an olympian. honestly i couldn’t care less. what matters to me is giving it a red hot crack and leaving no stone unturned. if i do that, i’ll be satisfied.
so yeah – i’m 21. i’m durable. i’m still progressing. i coach, i study, and i’m in this sport for the long run
let’s see how this xc season goes before writing me off
Mad respect to you, I can see it come out in your writing. I truly am pulling for you.
I didn't even think the person the OP was calling out would jump on LRC but here we are. Where I'm from not many people have even heard of LRC.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
I'm still not sure why this thread is called "depressing reality" but enjoy the ride. You are in the best years of your running career. Those of us that are 20+ years older than you would love to be in your shoes and able to work that hard and pursue the top level goals again. This is a time you will look back on fondly for many years.
Who would have the idiocy to condemn someone from Australia getting a full ride scholarship to get a degree that costs Americans over $100,000 for free. Get access to the facilities of an elite athlete, experience the college system that is non existent in Australia. Learn about the science behind something that already takes up a lot of our lives doing. Have the discipline, drive and motivation to compete in a sport that is one of the mentally and physically toughest.
if you knew a single thing about running you would understand that high mileage at a young age would be perfect for a transition into a marathon and the demands of that. You don’t know the circumstances of the runner.
i know the guy your talking about, and he is an amazing guy, who when i reached out to interview him for a school related project he was more than happy to, and gave some amazing information. While you are so quick to say it seems like he has so much pressure on him, it is not true whatsoever, he’s a guy purely driven and just has been doing what he loves. Im pretty sure he knows he’s not going to be the best in the world, but it doesn’t stop him from just doing what he loves!
I haven't read this whole thread but there's nothing sad about the reality of collegiate running. In college you get a chance to really compete against your peers, you are at an age where you are starting to peak, and you have all the support one could need.
It's the one time in your life where you can really push yourself to see what you are capable of doing in this sport. After college real life begins, so enjoy your time in college and being a collegiate athlete, no matter what level you happen to be competing.
He's still just a sophomore, and doing all the right things. A couple more years of this type of training will compound, and by his senior year there is a good chance he will have significantly improved. Possibly it takes a couple years after college for him to fully reap the benefits, if he can stay consistent. Everyone has a different ceiling. You have to respect the kid for fully investing- he will never have to deal with the "what-if" so many of us washed-up college athletes endure. Full-send, big dawg!
Why are you making fun of him for majoring in exercise science? Good physical therapists make 6 figs. Becoming a running coach is a dream job. And tens of millions of Americans have good jobs that are unrelated to their degrees. Having a degree in any subject from a decent school is enough to find success in a first world country.
Ok, Mr. 1950s. You're so out of touch when every Western economy has been hollowed out, and is running on fiat debt fumes, about to go full collapse even without considering AI and robotics.
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.
Exercise science is a mickey mouse degree.
Saying that, regular 100 mile weeks should install a good work ethic.
as a few people have pointed out, this thread is about me
before i start, the op is a cat for not namedropping me – at least give me the attention ya flog.
he didn’t mention my age – i just turned 21 and i find it funny how i can be fully written off already. i haven’t hit my physical peak yet and i’ve only been running for 6 years.
my current prs are 14:10 for 5k and 3:47 for 1500m. i didn’t get a new 5k pb this past year but context is everything. i ran 14:10 at bryan clay in 2024 and came 9th in my heat. this year i ran 14:10 again, but it was at lee where i came 2nd (1st ran 14:05 and was an all-american in xc). it was also my first track season after transferring, and i still saw progression in my 1500m (a 1 second pr in 35°c heat). by the end of the season things were starting to click with the new training. i also dealt with iron issues and some mental health struggles. for me, staying steady through that and still racing well was progress. if the op really did his research he would have noticed a pattern in my running – i always plateau for 2 years before i improve. 14:47 in 2022, 14:43 in 2023, 14:10 in 2024, 14:10 again in 2025. this is just a trend i know but i do feel like i have progressed and i am super excited to show it next track season.
you know what’s funny about taking the mickey out of my pb and my work ethic – if you had told me in 2021, when i had just run 15:10 after 2 years of 80+ mile weeks, that i’d run 14:10 in my whole career, i would have been bloody stoked. same with the 1500 – i never thought i’d run sub 3:50. now i’m very confident i can dip under 14 and more. if i got hit by a car tomorrow and couldn’t run again, i’d be satisfied with my pbs. does that mean i don’t want to train hard and improve? of course not. but having that perspective has helped me keep things in context.
i don’t see myself as a 1500/5k guy long term. my build is better suited for xc, 10k, and eventually the marathon. i am naturally slow as bricks – i could barely break 30 seconds for 200m in high school. even now, with lightspeed work, plyometrics, and heavy compound lifting, i can still barely break 13 in a rolling 100. that’s going to hold me back in the shorter stuff. but i’ve never been injured doing dumb training – i ran 100 miles a week at 16 and 110–120 miles last xc season. i’m durable, and as the op mentioned, i do believe it will pay off in the long run over longer distances. this sport is all about stacking years on years and believing that it will work in the long run
op called me “obsessed.” i’ll own that. i love running. i love studying exercise science, testing things on myself and my athletes, reading research, seeing what works. i’ve never hidden that. it is what i have built my content around since i started posting in 2020
from this obsession ive been able to start a coaching business. i coach 13 athletes and helping them succeed is just as fulfilling as chasing my own pbs. one of my athletes, at 15, has already run 3:59 for 1500m. another ran 14:27 and earned a scholarship in the us. another debuted with a 2:29 marathon. coaching is something i’m super passionate about, and it’s already giving me a career path and some income while i’m studying. on my major – sure, exercise science gets called a “mickey mouse” degree, but it gives me options. i’m really into research, so i can see myself pursuing a master’s. i could also stay in the us and coach collegiately. i’ve worked a lot in running retail and would love to be a brand tech rep. one day i’d like to open a running store back home, but i want to do a lot more before that.
whether i ever run professionally or not, i’ll always pursue my own running. i find it sad how many people give it up after college. my love for the sport goes deeper than performance. of course i want to run fast and win races, but i simply love the process. running is an individual sport and i want to explore how good i can get.
i’m not naive about the odds. i know im not going to become an olympian. honestly i couldn’t care less. what matters to me is giving it a red hot crack and leaving no stone unturned. if i do that, i’ll be satisfied.
so yeah – i’m 21. i’m durable. i’m still progressing. i coach, i study, and i’m in this sport for the long run
let’s see how this xc season goes before writing me off
One of the best posts about running dedication I have seen on here. Good job. But what about Jesus?
Why are you making fun of him for majoring in exercise science? Good physical therapists make 6 figs. Becoming a running coach is a dream job. And tens of millions of Americans have good jobs that are unrelated to their degrees. Having a degree in any subject from a decent school is enough to find success in a first world country.
Ok, Mr. 1950s. You're so out of touch when every Western economy has been hollowed out, and is running on fiat debt fumes, about to go full collapse even without considering AI and robotics.
I disagree, if you are in STEM you are set for life.
honestly, you're not going through anything that's abnormal. most college freshman find that they hit a wall at some point. you're living a different lifestyle, doing different and more intense training, and life in general is more stressful. just keep taking care of yourself and stay healthy. Source: ran at a high level D1 school for 5 years
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.
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.
I'm glad most people don't think this way. I don't think majoring in Exercise Science is a sign that he is solely depending on making the Olympics for his success in life. Becoming an Athletic Trainer or Physical Therapist is far from failure.
You're doing great- enjoy the ride- it's an exciting and fleeting time- you're at the same level I was in the 1990's- albeit I was slower- but at the time just behind qualifying for nationals and contending for mid-major conference titles. Enjoy the process of working and racing hard and being a teammate.