There's a guy in his 30s around here who ran under 13:50 in the 5k and 3:38 1500 which is the age group record for the UK. Last time I checked he runs 50 to 60 mpw. But he has very good speed. Ran a sub 4 mile.
There's a guy in his 30s around here who ran under 13:50 in the 5k and 3:38 1500 which is the age group record for the UK. Last time I checked he runs 50 to 60 mpw. But he has very good speed. Ran a sub 4 mile.
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.
Interesting take. I'm guessing this guy might have limited foot speed. 3:52 type 1500, 8:10/3000 etc.
I've seen many of these guys developing into good road runners -1:03:00/2:12:00.
However, career wise, it would be good if he had a plan B for skill, or a trade. I know electricians, plumbers, even barbers - raking in great coin. Again - you need a SKILL. Running is not a "skill" in demand. Less than 1% of runners can monetize all those 100+ mile weeks. Reality check.
Never understood why people got mad at people for training like this
usually guys who couldn’t touch 14:10
not bad as a sophomore
The kid is passionate about exercise science, that’s cool to me
why post a huge paragraph looking down on him, you learn life lessons from the sport, and hell maybe he’ll experiment on himself enough to become one of the next great coaches!
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.
Interesting take. I'm guessing this guy might have limited foot speed. 3:52 type 1500, 8:10/3000 etc.
I've seen many of these guys developing into good road runners -1:03:00/2:12:00.
However, career wise, it would be good if he had a plan B for skill, or a trade. I know electricians, plumbers, even barbers - raking in great coin. Again - you need a SKILL. Running is not a "skill" in demand. Less than 1% of runners can monetize all those 100+ mile weeks. Reality check.
What? The reason people go to college is to not have the occupations you listed. They’re also not likely to be part-time jobs. His logical choices are to find the best part-time job he can, starting his career and maintaining his training level around a full-time commitment or backing off and giving up his dream. None of those choices are good or bad.
The guy is obviously really good at running. Its more just discussing the flaws within their training and showing that running at an elite level is basically all just genetics.
Imagine your kid plays video games all day and believes thst he will be a pro player. You would likely dissuade him. Does that mean you hate him? Sam ething when people provide advice here. This place is part of the problem because people first give false hope regarding scholarships. Then kids find out they aren't fast enough for a scholarship but they double down and they adding they will make it as a pro because Strand did amd Wolfe did. When they don't male it, they bump up to 120 miles because 2:12 is easy pace for a marathon. They end up running 2:15 and get no sponsorship. They wake up at age 28 with a career ending injury while living with 5 guys and working at a running store and wonder why their friends are all making $100K.
Imagine your kid plays video games all day and believes thst he will be a pro player. You would likely dissuade him. Does that mean you hate him? Sam ething when people provide advice here. This place is part of the problem because people first give false hope regarding scholarships. Then kids find out they aren't fast enough for a scholarship but they double down and they adding they will make it as a pro because Strand did amd Wolfe did. When they don't male it, they bump up to 120 miles because 2:12 is easy pace for a marathon. They end up running 2:15 and get no sponsorship. They wake up at age 28 with a career ending injury while living with 5 guys and working at a running store and wonder why their friends are all making $100K.
That's it in a nutshell. First, what is the probability of going pro after college and making a decent living? If it's less than 30% one shouldn't be putting most of his eggs in that basket. I understand using athletics to pay for college, but once in college, when not actually training or competing all of all your efforts should be focusing on your chosen field of study/career. High school play time is over.
Then, there are those who want to be jock all their life. They end up staying over at each other's place watching and talking running and other sports stuff, hitting the bar scene (sports bar of course) and wondering what the successful folks are doing.
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.
Interesting take. I'm guessing this guy might have limited foot speed. 3:52 type 1500, 8:10/3000 etc.
I've seen many of these guys developing into good road runners -1:03:00/2:12:00.
However, career wise, it would be good if he had a plan B for skill, or a trade. I know electricians, plumbers, even barbers - raking in great coin. Again - you need a SKILL. Running is not a "skill" in demand. Less than 1% of runners can monetize all those 100+ mile weeks. Reality check.
There's been a big push in the US to bring back factory manufacturing jobs in the US lately. Not long ago I saw a poll asking people if they thought it was a good idea to bring factory jobs back. About 80% of the respondants said it was a good idea. Then I saw another poll asking people if they'd want to work in a factory. About 90% said they would not.
It's a big thing now to tell people to forget about college and learn a trade, plumbing, HVAC, electrician, etc. But a big reason for going to college was to avoid having to do those sorts of jobs. I'd like to see a survey of people pushing this "learn a trade" idea to find out how many of them work in some sort of trade or would be willing to. That said, I have always thought it would have been cool to have a job where you drive a fork lift.
There's a guy in his 30s around here who ran under 13:50 in the 5k and 3:38 1500 which is the age group record for the UK. Last time I checked he runs 50 to 60 mpw. But he has very good speed. Ran a sub 4 mile.
There's a guy in his 30s around here who ran under 13:50 in the 5k and 3:38 1500 which is the age group record for the UK. Last time I checked he runs 50 to 60 mpw. But he has very good speed. Ran a sub 4 mile.
uh, Farah...
No, I think he's a Northern English runner whose name escapes me for the time being...he was already featured here a few months ago