should I quit college running already?

FWIW, I played football at a D1 university. 80% of our walk-ons quit after one year and only 10% lasted all 4 years. You can always run club. This year is a weird year to begin with. Try and stick it out the calendar year and get to meets (if your conference is still competing). Get though a competition season and into off season. My freshman year was a smack in the face wake up call.

Run club and concentrate on your studies. You aren't a quitter and time will give you the perspective to realize this.

arunnerinwa wrote:

However, to quit or not is about opportunity cost. If you run on a D1 team, you can't take up a new, less competitive club sport at which you might excel, like crew or triathlon. You can't join and outdoor club and take up rock climbing or backpacking.

Given Covid, I'd be inclined to stick it out for at least another month and see how you're feeling.

I was going to say quit. I ran varsity for 4 years, got to travel the country going to meets, ran against guys im still friendly with at other schools in neighboring states. The best part of my college.

If you can't make varsity cross, it probably is a waste. So much you can do in college, why train to stay home for all the big meets? You could do research, take an extra class, volunteer, get a job...

Whatever you do, the first week of anything is always hard. But it will get better.

As a long time runner I can tell you that nothing is easy at first. Others seem soooo much better than you think you are. I know that feeling.

Don't quit now. Be gentle to yourself and give it some time. In 3 month all the fast guys might be all injured because they started out too hard. Who knows?

Already in one month things will look different.

As a runner, keep on running.

david45 wrote:

How is school a mistake?

It's a mistake for the really brilliant.

Kvothe wrote:

I think you should stick it out for at least a year. Run your own pace not your teammates. You never know, these guys could be overtraining and you end up beating them at conference when it counts.

screw that, you clearly want to quit so quit. my friend quit after his freshman year and was much happier, never looked back.

don't listen to faulty encouragements. remember this is 21st century thinking. and running...well

it's pretty basic.

kudos for someone being nice and supporting you but if you are even thinking about quitting you just don't have the right stuff and quite frankly it's amazing your coach hasn't picked up on this and had a talk with you. it's ok to have doubts about your ability but coming to a stupid internet forum to ask for help is just straight-up pathetic. go see a psychologist cause you are a lil' soft

(note: you don't have to be on a team to continue running.)

I would not live with a friend.

Stick it out, you cannot see into the future.

Stick with it. To be able to run D1 is a gift no matter what other elitists may say. Ask yourself - ‘will I regret not stick with it’ when you are 40 or 50 or 60? Chances are you may. Probably aren’t gonna look back and say ‘ I wasted my time’. Probably look back with pride and realizing how few athletes can do this, especially in running world. You’ll have lifetime cred in the running world.

Life is about opportunities, as a runner this is a special opportunity. And I know from experience, employers love college student-athletes, especially D1. This shows tremendous commitment, time management, and hard work. Also, usually, indicates you weren’t doing Varsity Party.

Don't give up! I ran on a very small partial scholarship for a junior college many years ago. My mileage went up to 100+ miles per week while my race times slowed significantly from high school. After one year it was a mutual decision to not continue my scholarship. I focused on academics, lowered my mileage to about 60/week, coached myself, ran with the local track club and consistently beat runners from the team I had just quit. I never looked back, I actually enjoyed running and racing after that, and had a lot lower stress level. That same outlook has kept me going for the past 40 years.

OP, Obviously every situation is different and those varying factors must be considered, but I truly believe you should stick it out through this academic year. I've been a college coach for the past decade or so. While that's not forever, I have seen a variety of situations play out over that time. Every year that passes, I become more convinced that following through on your commitment is the optimal route. Firstly, you will not regret it. Even if your freshman year doesn't find much success, you will always be better off for having finished it out. You will prove to yourself that you are capable of completing difficult things, a trait that will benefit every relationship you are in, every job you have, etc. Next: The beginning of any journey can be the hardest part. I have a hard time counting the number of student-athletes I've worked with who went through exactly what you're describing in their first year but who found huge amounts of success throughout the rest of their career. All of them talk about how they legitimately thought about hanging it up and how glad and relieved they are that they didn't. There is no way of knowing yet if this is always how things will be. Give yourself a shot at down-the-road success. Thirdly: If nothing else, be the guy who shows gratitude for the opportunity by giving your school and coaches your best for a full year. Especially as a walk-on, you have a duty to them to reward their faith in you. Keep your head up and believe in yourself. Chris

stillatit wrote:

Stick with it. To be able to run D1 is a gift no matter what other elitists may say. Ask yourself - ‘will I regret not stick with it’ when you are 40 or 50 or 60? Chances are you may. Probably aren’t gonna look back and say ‘ I wasted my time’. Probably look back with pride and realizing how few athletes can do this, especially in running world. You’ll have lifetime cred in the running world.

Life is about opportunities, as a runner this is a special opportunity. And I know from experience, employers love college student-athletes, especially D1. This shows tremendous commitment, time management, and hard work. Also, usually, indicates you weren’t doing Varsity Party.

^This.

Also, think of all the runners (like me) who were never good enough to run any kind of college varsity, let alone D1. YOU HAVE THAT CHANCE. Grab it, do your best, don't piss it away because freshman week was tough. Make a full investment, feel good about yourself, and even if your freshman year running doesn't go well, you can take the lessons learned, set yourself up for a monster summer of training next year, and maybe your sophomore year will be awesome and all you hoped it would be.

Exactly. I could only dream of being in the same position as OP.

Give it at least one year.