Best jobs for sub-elite runners?

Something where you are not sitting or standing all day.

Substitute teach.

not a Karen maybe a Ken wrote:

Something where you are not sitting or standing all day.

And a flexible schedule makes it better. The ability to move work hours forward or backward based on what running needs to be done that day.

Perhaps a call center type of job where you can work from home. You can stand up and walk around frequently. Snack and hydrate between calls as needed.

lmb wrote:

Substitute teach.

I did a lot of that. Teaching, not just subbing, was a very common runner's job in the amateur years. You had regular hours, were done with work by mid afternoon which meant that even in winter you could do your main run in daylight. Weekends were free so you could race and do long runs without work getting in the way.

Bill Baillie eventually took up taxi driving in the late bits of his running career because taxi drivers generally can choose their own hours. I did the same thing as Baillie and found that to be true but the money wasn't all that good for me, Baillie did quite well.

I worked for many years as a counselor in mental health clinics and that worked very well for running. The hours were 9 to 5, I could get a run in at the lunch hour and another after work at 5:00 and like teaching, the weekends were free. You'd need a graduate degree to do that nearly everywhere. But I think any 9 to 5 kind of office job where you're really working only those hours would be a good fit.

I'd also add that a job where you can run back and forth from work would also be a good fit for a serious runner unless the actual work was exhausting, damaging, too much time standing around, etc.

Any job where you can work remotely and set your own hours. There are a lot of jobs like this. I worked for a Fortune 50 financial services company. Even before covid I worked at home mostly and no one cared if I was offline for a few hours to go for a run.

Al Bundy...work in a shoe store. Local running shoe stores are packed with sub elites and sub elite wannabes.

You're unlikely to find a job that's perfect. If you could, they wouldn't have to pay you to do it.

The fact that you need a job tells us that you're not making a living from running. Therefore, running will have to take a back seat to the thing at which you are making a living. That's part of the sacrifice you have to make in order to support yourself.

Hot Takes wrote:

not a Karen maybe a Ken wrote:

Something where you are not sitting or standing all day.

And a flexible schedule makes it better. The ability to move work hours forward or backward based on what running needs to be done that day.

Predictability is better than flexibility. Flexibility matters when the number of hours isn’t very high, but a sub-elite will have to work 40ish hours a week.

That block of time is best to he worked around predictably and consistently- Both make for better running schedules than constantly shifting work times.

I am a teacher and taught when I OTQed. Find a routine and own it, whatever it is.

Become an Uber driver. Set your own hours and make millions.

Become a juvenile corrections officer. A lot easier than an adult corrections officer. 40 hours a week. No take home work! A variety of shifts to choose from. Days, Swing, and Grave. Will require some weekend and holiday work at times. Usually pretty good benefits and lots of vacation time. I know of people that can get 7.5 weeks of vacation a year after 15 years.

Work'n the Cell Block wrote:

Become a juvenile corrections officer. A lot easier than an adult corrections officer. 40 hours a week. No take home work! A variety of shifts to choose from. Days, Swing, and Grave. Will require some weekend and holiday work at times. Usually pretty good benefits and lots of vacation time. I know of people that can get 7.5 weeks of vacation a year after 15 years.

I might add that after the first year you can be pulling 4 weeks of vacation time.

okay!!!!!!!!!!!! wrote:

You're unlikely to find a job that's perfect. If you could, they wouldn't have to pay you to do it.

The fact that you need a job tells us that you're not making a living from running. Therefore, running will have to take a back seat to the thing at which you are making a living. That's part of the sacrifice you have to make in order to support yourself.

It's true that you have to adjust your running to however you keep yourself alive. But for many years running was my top priority and probably the main criteria I had for any job I took was that it not interfere too much with my running or other things I wanted to do. I think that's what the OP is asking about; jobs that are most compatible with serious running.

You need to think about now and the future IMO. If you spend 10 years working in a job just because it allows you to run at a sub elite level, you’re setting yourself back in life by 10 years. It’s up to you as to whether running is worth it.

I have a senior job in a massive corporate and it’s perfect for running imo. Most of the time it is 9-5 and I can run to and from the office (in non-covid times), there’s 1000s of people who work there so when I want to put focus on running nobody notices. but I have to accept that from time to time I need to put in the effort on big projects and running takes a back seat.

I’ve managed to fit in more than 3200 miles so far this year and hold the job and family down, so it works well.

Freelance graphic design and web design work. Obviously, they have to have the relevant skills, but in those fields anyone willing to hustle can always pick up a few decent projects throughout the year, and between that and a bit of prize money should be able to scrape by.

Administrative assistant/office work

AR/billing

Jobs where you are basically guaranteed To arrive and leave at the same time each day with little to no chance of having to stay late or take work home with you etc.

Grad school, especially as a grad asst.

There's a huge misconception that having a career and being elite are incompatible.

A large number of nationally competitive runners (Think 13:30s -> 62:XX) have CAREERS. Having a 9-5 may sound tough but making a solid salary allows you to travel to the best races, get treatment and may have flexible options for schedule, part-time, or sabbatical.

Maybe you run 10sec slower than you would in your local semi-pro group but your future and that of your family is secure for life.

Lots of high end elite runners have jobs. It’s about the routine you set. Think it depends on your event too. Marathon runners might find it easier than an 800m guy for example