A Warning to All HS/Collegiate Athletes: Go All In, But Have An Exit Strategy

There is not really much to argue with in this, however I will counter that because one can continue to compete after high school or college, that may allow one to exorcise some of those demons of unfulfilled races and performances. Maybe that helps someone to move on, to no longer obsess on the botched race from high school.

Just a thought.

What is sad is when you see people who continue to pour so much time into a sport after they're passed their prime in the hopes of regaining former glory. Especially if that sport is leading to disappointment, injury strained relationships and wasted energy. After college, I found myself trying to get back into running whenever I was at an idle period in my life a couple times. I quickly found the energy and time spent not to be worth it - find something else to give your life meaning instead of falling back to what's comfortable.

Your advice is applicable to every single sport. Runners are more likely to stay on course for a degree than athletes in the major team sports. Many of those athletes will leave college after three years, play on an NFL practice squad or in the minor leagues for a few years, and never return to receive a degree.

I didnt say it wasn't, but I do think team sports force the issue (realization that the dream is over) since you can't do it without a league and team.

I resonate with this. The good news is in my experience it doesn't even have to be running that helps one move on, though. In my case I've gotten a lot of satisfaction from challenging myself on the bike. I'm not great by any means, but setting, chasing, and ultimately attaining goals that required significant physical discomfort has helped me prove to myself that my worst running performances weren't because I was just soft... but rather that "the dawg" was still in me.

The difference now, of course, is that there isn't pressure anymore, and perhaps that is why I find it so joyful to push myself as an older athlete past my prime. I'm doing it now because I want to - no one gives a s*** if I succeed or fail except myself.

I think this is really good point and would highly encourage high school juniors and seniors to think carefully about this when deciding where to run for college if they decide to pursue it at the next level. Don’t just go to a school because you can get a roster spot and you are so hell bent on being D1 at any cost or remaining in the sport in any way so will go to any D2, D3, NAIA, etc. that will give you a spot. Think about the long term potential consequences. Don’t choose a team to the 17th man on a D1 program just because they make nationals every year and it will be a cool Insta post or chose your school on who makes nationals if there is nothing that is going to set you up well or be marketable later on in life.

After watching several classes of distance kids graduate with mine, one thing is abundantly clear - almost everyone finishes high school or college losing a race or not reaching a time goal. Some enjoyed the journey and some can’t help but think “what if” or be depressed that their genetics proved their dreams impossible when their friends proved faster.

Just have fun and use running to grow and have good experiences.

Go to the best school for your degree. Don’t go to a subpar school just so you can play a sport. I see a ton of girls on my kid’s soccer team go to D2 and Jucos with crap academics just to play soccer. Go to the D1 school with good academics and either walk on or play club sports. And if you go D1, academics first, running second unless you are good enough to make a career of running (if you are not an All American or are not at a top 20 program, a career in running is likely not in your future). I ran with numerous All Americans, only one distance runner was able to make a career of running. A couple became doctors, some sold insurance, a couple became engineers, a few became teachers, and some got into real estate. Those who did the best academically tended to do the best financially afterwards.

I see this differently. All these old ball players usually just end up obsessing about golf.

They basically spend as time and way more money on golf then I did on my running after college. And they never shut up about their golfing either.

I continued to run after grad school. Just changed my approach. I only did 100 mile weeks for a short time usually in summer...and did 50-60 mile weeks most of the year. I didn't have the performance expectations that I had earlier. Used running for my social outlet with the local club.

I found my career wasn't all that challenging. So I kept running. Why not.

The beauty of our sport is that it teaches discipline and long term goal setting and our athletes labor in anonymity. Young runners use these lessons to become successful more than most other HS athletes.

We're probably the least likely to live in the past. Sure we want to continue to do "well" but we recognize that decline is inevitable and we have masters athletes who show us the true worth of running- lifetime fitness.

Use your athleticism to attract women while you can. Otherwise you’ll spend your 40th birthday alone together with your let’s run message board friends.

in short, don’t go all in… nobody will care that you ran a 13:57 when you could have half-assed your way to a 14:30.

I worked in running stores while in college and there is nothing in this world sadder and more wasteful than a single/divorced middle aged man still chasing age group glory on the local roads. No one respects it and no one cares. The young guys and girls at the local running store laugh at you as you hangout every Saturday afternoon looking for free gear and sponsorship. The fact that you value holiday 5K medals and Turkey Trot win streaks over family, friends, and career indicates a life wasted. I fully expect many downvotes because a lot of these men reside on LRC forums nearly full time.

I recommend that young athletes set a date like your 25th or 26th birthday as a retirement date. If you are not pro or an OT qualifier, don’t waste critical work career / experience years chasing a dream that nearly no one bothers to think about except you. You never see 38 year old dudes in the local YMCA rec league bragging that they are going to be in the NBA, but lots of similar aged guys in running think that they are on the precipice of a pro contract and an OTQ in the marathon if they could just get a free pair of AlphaFly 3 and six months of uninjured double threshold work.

Sounds like you talk about 50% of the people right here at the LRC infamous message board.

I don’t know. The city rec centers were full of deadbeat middle aged dads playing pickup basketball.

I think it's fine to run and to have goals and compete with yourself. To think you're going to run in the Trials is indeed delusional. Running past 30 is a good thing, it's fun, you can race your friends, put in hard workouts and remain fit- All that is perfectly fine IMO.

What made me post this was that I have seen guys that were really smart, men that could have been engineers, doctors, whatever, but they became so side tracked into The Running Thing that they ended up become teachers (so they could coach) or chasing low level college gigs.

Unless you are the very best collegiate and/or a top olympian the peak glory in track and field is actually in high school. Except for the Ivy league, hardly any spectators watch T&F meets in person in college...and even DL meets in the US. Even at a school like Oregon there are more fans at a Softball game than at a regular meet in Eugene. For most collegiate athletes, they got more attention in HS than in college.

As far as not letting go, when you see a LRC poster ask "what do I have to do at 30 years old to run faster than my HS mile time?" you know this dude was a JV level athlete in HS who never stopped running/training, reaching for some glory that he never had in HS. ...It's not the State Champions who are trying to extend their glory. It's the one's who never experienced it in the first place.

What really attracts a partner (or, more precisely, the people that are right for a given person) is actively working to be the best version of yourself. Be honest about who you are at your core, and prioritize authentically improving those traits. That combination of confidence and aspiration is very attractive.

That can mean pursuing excellence while you can in something like running, but there should be balance. You can go "all in" on running and still develop in other ways because becoming the best that you can in running does not have to be all-consuming.

In fact, for most people, they will develop and perform their best if it is not. You can pour the proper energy into training and recovery and have plenty of time left over to develop in other meaningful ways, so do it. Read. Socialize. Learn to cook (like, actually really learn to cook delicious and healthy food). Explore and pursue other physical activities (as appropriate given how you are approaching running).

So I say go "all in" on running if you are in that phase of life and are so inclined, but do so by going "all in" on yourself.

I like this a lot, the holistic approach to "all in".

Just about every serious 30-something runner I know has a good job and a spouse. Most have kids. Training at a high level takes somewhere around 10-15 hours per week, mostly before work.

There's some merit to the comments about enjoying your kids' birthdays instead of focusing on the sport 100% of the time. But on balance, it's hard to see training and competing beyond HS or college as a bad thing. Running keeps you fit and it's a great opportunity to meet people. Just don't take yourself so seriously - advice that's applicable to many areas of life.