Does sprinting in college not exist as a hobby?

Youre right. It kinda just dies off unlike everything else.

Its not like sportsball, or distance running, or weightlifting. I think one of the things it comes down to is how miniscule the improvements can be and how hard it is to keep setting PRs. Compared to weightlifting and distance running, even if you suck, since the numbers are so much bigger so are the improvements.

yeah exactly, it seems that people have a need for those constant dopamine hits. Slow progress isn't a thing anymore. I've come to the conclusion that I'll treat this as a "self study" pursuit. I'll see if any opportunities come along (I have heard there are open track meets), but in the meantime, I'll keep grinding the track and the weights.

Club team. Sprinters either quit, continue as college athletes, or focus on their other sport.

You could probably move to the 800 and contribute to the club team, though you may have to do workouts on your own as the distance guys stuff may not always suit you. Whether or not you want to run the mileage needed and gut out xc for the club environment is up to you.

nsandell123 wrote:

In high school, I ran varsity track, and my times were 56.23 for the 400m and 25.97 for the 200m. I now go to Georgia Tech, and I have not found any hobbyist sprinters here. There is a long distance running groupchat, but it seems like sprinting just suddenly disappears once you hit college.

Note that I am talking about untalented, slow runners like myself. I was talking to an athlete on the team about whether or not I could walk on with some hard work, and he told me that nowadays GT is recruiting 46's and 47's.

Any thoughts? Does anyone know how I can continue this passion in college or even when I become an adult? Does this sport die down in college because it 's hard on the knees, but then why is basketball so popular?

Hobby sprinters are rare, but they do exist:

He did get to compete against other college athletes and ended up with a wind-legal 12.15 100m / 25.09 200m.

"One more thing - I did finish last in some of my heats, but I think it's pretty cool that a random guy like me can compete in college meets and not finish in the bottom 20% overall. Sure, most of those guys I beat were D3, NAIA, JC, and maybe the odd D2 guy who had a bad day, but it seems amazing that I was even in the mix.

With the exception of D1 schools, you don't need to be a genetic freak to run for many colleges and not embarrass yourself in races. I was never even close to being one of the fastest runners in elementary school, I never had a sprint coach, and I still don't own blocks or have regular access to them. A lot of people think that you can't teach or learn speed, but that isn't true unless you're trying to compete at the highest levels. 12 flat and mid 24s should be doable for the vast majority of the young male population provided that they are sufficiently motivated."

There definitely are students who still enjoy sprinting. When I hear to my college's track to do workouts, it isn't uncommon to see some kid doing 100m reps in basketball shorts. Obviously the best place to fine like-minded runner would be on the club team.

I'd check out the Georgia Tech running club at least. Maybe someone else is interested in sprinting and you can work together. I don't know much about the Atlanta Track Club, but maybe they have a sprinters group? Does USATF Georgia host any open track meets you can sprint at?

I'm up in Boston, and here there are a number of options for amateur sprinters. Maybe come on up here after college for grad school or a job.

In Boulder Colorado, you can be a hobby sprinter. In the summer, there are All Comers Meets:

https://boulderroadrunners.org/all-comers-track-and-field/

It does appear that NIRCA had 100m, 200m, and 400m at Nationals back in 2019, so if Georgia Tech has a club, (I think they do) you might be able to get plugged in and maybe even find a few others that would be interested in sprinting. You could also compete at NIRCA regionals/nationals for the school club if you want something to train for.