At age 31, I just started running. Do I hold the potential to become a pro?

Yes I have visions of you on the Paris 2024 podium.

Hi I work with HOKA. We are seeking an over the hill runner with zero ability. Then we can relate to the everyday runner. We’d like to offer you $100,000/ yr. Even better if you have a chunky girlfriend with dogs so we can relate to the milenials.

At age 31, I just started running. Do I hold the potential to become a pro?

Yes I will coach you for free.

Never heard of anyone who has managed to do such a thing, so I guess not.

If you have a lot of talent and dedication you'll probably end up with a 30-something/31' on the 10k, which is really not bad but still far from pro level. I know a couple of people who started roughly at your age and accomplished those kind of times.

I surf on here very infrequently so take it for what it's worth.

You won't go pro. If you topped out at those times, you would not make it as a professional female either, which is OK because you will find out the hard way that women are hauling it in running. Your 1:13 half is 11 minutes behind the women's world-record so consider that it is very likely you may never reach that benchmark before contemplating 'going pro.' A women's world-record caliber runner would get a men's full scholarship at many institutions, so there is more parity between genders in running/track than you might anticipate.

So take a different approach and enjoy the journey, maybe enrich your life and make some new friends. Honestly you display some good talent for where you are at in your lifetime training trajectory. Your times are reasonably solid, especially for a newcomer to the sport, and those could come down a lot. Be humble and train hard.

Know that pro running and self-sufficiency is a very narrow slice. There are sub-63-64 half-marathoners who can barely snag free shoes, gear, a comp entry and maybe a hotel on occasion, and they are not quitting their day job with those times. Very good runners get mere crumbs in this sport. So you won't support yourself solely in running unless you do something crazy like break an American record or have some form of celebrity status to begin with.

Do not be too discouraged, this sport is inadequately supported and poorly managed to begin with. You display talent - hitting those times fairly early into the game is good running. You might be able to break 30-31 minutes for a 10K and 1:06-07 for a half-marathon, those might be attainable times. And those are damn good times. Maybe in a few years you try to bring those down some more. But going pro? I seriously doubt it.

If you want to support yourself in a similar athletic sport - consider seeing if you swim and bike at a similar level. There is more money to be had in triathlons, but be prepared to dial it back at work in order to put in that kind of time to train because they put in a lot more time than even the top runners.

Otherwise, enjoy the ride but don't expect a payoff.

It's been a year. I wonder what kind of times this guy is running

Hi everyone,

You were all correct. I’m now doing Ultras and I’ve won every race I entered. Didn’t know you can walk all the hills and still dominate. I don’t win prize money but I log 250 miles per week and my wife hates me. So do my kids. I just bought a new hydration vest and compression socks too. Family must be jealous. Anyone wanna pace me for my next 200 mi race? It’s around a track.

Almost 2 years. Would be fun to have an update from the OP.

You can't be a 'real' pro, like Rupp who's basically only training and racing and not doing much else to earn money.

I wouldn't also bet one's livelihood on reaching sub65 in hm as the progress is non-linear and you might just as well plateau right at 33 10K.

However I see possible options:

- become active on social media. Winning local races might be a decent boost to you popularity. Eventually you start monetising, get gear contracts etc. It could be enough to support oneself. However if you can do that sort of thing on social media, it is a sort of 'talent' itself, and in this case more important than running talent. You could do it with poor running results. Or with dog food for ffs.

- get to a decent level and say you're self-coached and willing to coach hobbyjoggers. spend one evening per week dragging workouts in Final Surge or Training Peaks for a couple dozen suckers and you have yourself 2-3 grand per month and a lot of free time. However this feels a bit like a scam, doesn't it? And it also requires self-promotion skill more than running one.

I'm interested to know the current results of the topic starter.

I play hand ball all the time and it’s never improved my fitness :(

If I'm the coach and you have natural good sprint speed it looks you can reach elite level. Just contact me and we discuss further. Welcome to my world class coaching....🇸🇪🧙‍♂️👋