Is a running club in college any fun?

As with everything it all depends on the school. You could find some good friends, but it won’t compare to high school track and XC if you were a part of a championship program. If high school was just hanging with the team, running races, and chasing PRs it is probably comparable. If high school was competing for championships, it won’t be the same because you’ll never find yourself in a club race with those stakes.

If it wasn't fun, then why would anyone do it?

It doesn't stop with college either. You can run for the rest of your life. Or, at least you can run until you get injured because of old age. Maybe you're already too old.

david45 wrote:

Is a running club in college any fun?

Yes.

How would it compare to high school track and XC?

More hot boys.

Nothing beats hs running. It was so much fun and you make friends for life. Definitely don't want to pass up that opportunity!

Correct! Me and the boys are all friends and STILL have an occasional pasta party! We STILL do "bus rides", as a have a BIG white van!

I ran on a competitive high school team and then a club team in college. The biggest difference I found is that the club team is much more relaxed and people are there for the enjoyment. Not everyone is there to set a PR and it may take some adjusting for you to recognize this. Everyone on the club will have different goals, for some it’s a PR and for some it’s just to get outside and relieve stress by jogging for 20 mins.

Practice was entirely optional for everyone and there was no set training plan, just show up and do what you want. Some days our club had a plan of going to X Y or Z trail but most days it was on the fly. You may need to exercise some personal accountability because you won’t get in trouble from your coach or teammates for missing practice or half-arsing a workout. Our coach was there as a resource in case we needed guidance but he wasn’t putting together a team training plan. Yours might be willing to work with you to create a personal training plan but it’s entirely dependent on the structure.

You may also be like me and be one of few on the club who is training hard for PRs, and you may be alone on training runs many days if you are pushing your limits and will need to get used to that. Our club was unique in that we had track workouts and tempo work in “season” because we had a small contingent of guys and gals who were competitive, but not all clubs may be like this. Depending on your goals you may need to do your own workouts at the track if that is what you need.

Smile, enjoy it, make some new friends. I set many PRs while still being on a club team, so it is possible. If you want to set PRs you will need to hold yourself accountable, if instead you just want to enjoy a quick jog a few days a week to get some fresh air have at it.

Sham 69 wrote:

More hot boys.

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Are there a greater number of hot boys or are the boys more hot?

david45 wrote:

Is a running club in college any fun? How would it compare to high school track and XC?

It depends on if jamin, david45, or sham join it...

If you are going to say, a Big 10 school, the clubs are competitive with training plans, sometimes coaches and pretty good times. However if you are going to a smaller school, you might not have the same competitive atmosphere. It is all optional, so you get out of it what you put into it.

Cross country is organized by NIRCA. So there is a regionals and nationals and they are pretty damn fun.

Track there is a nationals, but the more competitive kids run unattached at D1 meets as well. At nationals, there is also a half marathon that army sends their team too sometimes. The sprinters/jumpers lag in competitiveness and numbers. It’s really a more distance oriented club at most schools.

I’d say, if you want to go the a power 5 school, club is the way to go, but if you’re going to a small liberal arts school, prob not.