Why do so many great high school and college runners quit running after graduation?

So who made you the one to decide the qualifying standards to allow post college athletes to keep running?

And I guess while you were making the standards you went ahead and added to the thesaurus by putting "a fair amount of success" under elite.

You sound like one of those six flags workers that guesses peoples weight... "give me a dollar and i'll tell you your weight." But yours is much more sophisticated... "Hey look everyone, I'll tell you if you have a career!" (just a hint ......, I think people know if they have a career or not, its not rocket science.) Can you tell the future too?!?!

Look buddy, your the annoying one. Obviously diii steeple is not.

Post collegiate, most folks work 8:30 to 5:30, not including commuting time. So, they may not even get home until 6:00-6:30. By that time, they are hungry and have been making up reasons NOT to run all day. Or, they may skip the run and go to happy hour or dinner with friends.

Most people don't have the heart or dedication required to go out and pound out miles at 6:30-7pm after a long day of work. (or even get out and pound miles at 6 am prior to a long hard day of work).

The dedication required to be a great athlete with a full time job means you have to come home and run 60 to 90+ minutes post-work and maybe some in the AM before work. You really think that is going to motivate people? Hell no.

What ends up happening is half-ass attempts with people running once in a while...like say when the weather is nice. Consequently, you see a whole lot of 19-20 min 5ks in local road races from guys who could pound out 15 min 5ks in the past. Also, sadly, they gain a lot of weight.

But, you can do a lot to motivate your fellow runner friends to continue running.

I packed it in after college, well mostly. I would say I had a pretty successful D1 career. I only run occasionally, and when I race I don't run very hard. My fastest 5k road race since graduation was 18:15 (three minutes off my best road time), pretty pathetic. It was probably because I took it out at 5:20 or so with the leaders, then ran an 7 minute second mile.

I plan on training for a marathon sometime soon, but I dont have lofty goals. I want to break 3 hours, which I'm sure I can do, I just have to put in the work.

Running is tough to fit in the work schedule, I honestly would rather play pick up sports than run everyday.

What about me?

I ran D1, broke 30:00 in the 10 (29:52), ran 14:33 in the 5k and always ran well in cross.

After graduation, I knew I wasn't going to go to the Olympics, and frankly, I was tired of training so hard.

I still run, I have run a few marathons around 2:30 (some above, some below), but now I just run everyday. I am sure I will run some more marathons, but I won't train so hard for them.

There is something kind of sad about running 15:45 for a 5k when I used to run so much faster. I don't like getting slower when I don't feel that much older.

I have a job and a family, and I like to spend time with my wife and friends. I don't want to spend all day at the track.

I am still fit, I love to run, but I just don't care to train that hard anymore. I put everything into running for 4 years at college, that was my time.

I have no problem with other people training as hard as they can and running slower, I just don't care to do it.

I would rather enjoy my running. I get more out of a nice 15 miler than I would from running 15:45 at a local race.

Why is that so wrong?

The biggest reason for me not running well after college is that I have nobody to train with. Having a group of 10 guys to run with 7 days a week is a great motivator to getting my ass out the door.

I still love running and would love to be competitive again, but I'm not going to be able to do it on my own no matter how hard I try.

That's the thinking that keeps most collegiate runners from putting on their running shoes post graduation. "The Olympics or nothing crowd."

Actually I think it's very annoying to hear guys talk about how fast they were in their 20s. Hell, YOU SHOULD BE FAST IN YOUR 20's! If anything the Masters runners that lay down some decent times are really to be respected. They do work jobs, have families and they train and race well.

In college all you have to do is worry about running and class. Anybody can be fast then.

Jizzmo wrote:

In college all you have to do is worry about running and class. Anybody can be fast then.

Spoken like a true moron.

How fast did you run in college?

What is wrong with a guy talking about his college track days? As long as he isn't an ass, I don't see the problem.

Is it that you have never been fast, have an inferiority complex and like to hide behind your idea that if you had been training then, you would have been running sub 15 too!!!!

Who said anything about not respecting Masters Runners, i think we all respect Masters runners.

If you don\'t run because you don\'t get paid, that\'s sad.

Naturally with full time jobs and live you can\'t train as hard as you did when you were in college and on a team. So you will be slower, but why give up the sport of racing?

If you loved the sport you would still train, push yourself and race. If you only raced for the money then you quit. If you only loved the winning but not the training and racing then you will quit. If you are uncomfortable running a race and not being at the very front of the pack then you quit.

If you love the sport, and you love training and competing, even though you might be slower you still race.

That\'s the way I see it.[/quote]

Some people like me run because they were good at it. That\'s just as valid a reason. I would say most people in high school and college run as much as they do simply because theyre good at it and want to get better. It doesnt have to be because you \"love\" the sport. I would have never run if I wasnt good (a while ago).

Some people like me run because they were good at it. That's just as valid a reason. I would say most people in high school and college run as much as they do simply because theyre good at it and want to get better. It doesnt have to be because you "love" the sport. I would have never run if I wasnt good (a while ago).

I'm actually surprised by how many runners -- how many athletes in general -- try to make a career out of what started as recreation. In high school it's relatively easy to be the best (in your school/league/section); in college, a bit harder; as a pro, it's nearly impossible to stand out. What was once almost effortless fun for a good, competitive athlete becomes a brutal grind. And the quest for glory becomes fruitless for all but the handful of most focused (obsessed, one-dimensional?) runners.

Most adults seek more breadth of experience in life. Some protracted intellectual pursuits, family life, kids, relaxation, margaritas . . . just a bit more flexibility and a bit more meaning. If you truly believe that God wants you to do nothing else, you have a leg up . . . which I think explains the success of a great many top runners (who, by the way, I love to watch run!). But it's not for everyone.

chuck d wrote:

running is not all about competing against others but, much moreso than other sports, competing against yourself.

Nothing against Mr. d or anything, but this is the attitude that led to the decline of American distance running.

Running (as a sport) IS all about competing against others.

Many are missing a major point. You can still have an active career and great family life and still train and compete. You may not be able to be quite as obsessed with the training and may not run quite as fast but you can still test yourself and compete.

And please don't say that you only ran because you were good at it and if you can't be so good at it you don't want to race. If you only ran because you were good, you really don't understand and appreciate the sport.

Sorry, I think I misunderstood your original post. I thought you were asking why very good runners didn't try to compete at the highest levels after college. Sounds like you just wonder why they don't compete casually. I do think many great runners enjoy winning more than running, per se. That's part of what propels them to train/race as hard as they do and get as good as they are. So for that significant population of great runners, there's no thrill in running for the feel of the wind blowing through their hair, the opiates in the blood, etc.

The reason I say you should be fast is that when you are in college physically you are probably as strong as you'll ever be, and you have the time to devote to all out running. That all changes once "real life" starts.

True, you can talk about "the good ol' fast days" with out being a d!ck about it. But what you seem to hear alot is "I could run fater than those guys (at X road race) I just don't want to." Kind of like all the guys on letsrun that critize various people's marathon efforts without ever having done one.

As far my running. I wasn't great- far from it. I was a very typical collegiate runner. No where near Olympian, wasn't even the best on my team. I had a 5 year lay off after college. Didn't run a step for many of the same reasons other have given. I had a job that did not allow for a set schedule, I was newly married, lots of weekend projects, and I could not stand the thought of running a 18:00+ 5k.

Also, I remember looking at the results for some meet in T&FN and reading the times and thinking "Why the F*** am I even doing this?" Guys are running sub-13 and I can't break 15:00. It's that kind of thinking that will have you hanging up the runnng shoes, gaining 20 lbs and talking about the glory days.

This is a very good thread to a question that has been asked many times. As stated a number of different ways above, the main reason is that priorities change and staying motivated to run when you have a full time job, a wife, and children is obviously a lot harder than when you were in high school/college and your main responsibilities were to study and run. Huge difference guys.

There is also another reason that really hit home to me while having lunch with my high school xc country coach last year. Myself and another runner from my school (both in our mid forties) were taling about why he wasn't running anymore despite the fact that he went to a D1 school and ran very well in road races in his 20s. He looked at my coach and said, "this may be hard to believe but even though I was pretty good at running, I never really liked it". That pretty much summed it up for him. Without the structure of a team and a training schedule, there was no way he was going to get up early or run after work to do something he really didn't enjoy. What was shocking to me though is that not only was he not racing, he wasn't even running to stay in shape.

I think I feel similar to the way you do about running. I was never that good--didn't even run for college--but continue to train and (attempt to) compete at a local level despite being married with kids and job with regular hours.

That said, surely you must understand that some people just have a different emotional investment in the sport. Not that they don't "understand and appreciate" it, just they're in it for different reasons. They're different people, that's all.

Eventually, you might stop running, then maybe when you look back on your career you will understand what it's like to be these people. I wish I could have a bit of the talent that is no longer used by them, but obviously that's not the way things work.

And honestly, I question my own mental stability at times. What's really great about engaging in an obsessive behavior for mediocre (at best) results? Isn't it possible that the simple act of running is, at times, overly glorified, perhaps to justify the questionable things that we choose to do with our time on this earth?

Zigmund wrote:

This is a very good thread to a question that has been asked many times. As stated a number of different ways above, the main reason is that priorities change and staying motivated to run when you have a full time job, a wife, and children is obviously a lot harder than when you were in high school/college and your main responsibilities were to study and run. Huge difference guys.

I think that's dead on. I run about 25-30 miles a week right now, i've done some road races and 2 marathons, but when it comes down to it, I like it because it allows me to have a life outside of running. I think to be a great runner, you need some sort of obsesive compulsive disorder to make sure you are controlling every part of your life to revolve around running, and after doing it for 5 years in college, I just needed some time away from it.

I don't want to watch what I eat, not go out on saturday's because my long run will suck hungover, not take trips because i'm afraid i'll miss my training goal for the week, and most of all, running outside of college is a lonely task. There just isn't to many local joggers who can train at a level high enough for you to have a legit partner.

I've noticed the older i've gotten now, at 27, i'm feeling the itch to be competitive again and have started throwing in workouts here and there and racing a bit more. But I think I just needed time away from the sport to live a fairly normal life for a while, instead of the hobbit like die hard runner that you have to be to run fast.

Bottom line? I'd rather laugh and wrestle with my kids on a Saturday afternoon than spend 2 hrs at the track running repeat 1000s. Your priorities change.

I only see passing reference from you posters to the MAIN reason people drop out of running - pure & simple, TEAM. When that bond of TEAM is broken, so is a portion of your desire to run. Not only does your running revolve around the team, but often your social life as well. This is particularly apparent after high school. I surmise more runners give up after high school than after college. Although most posters here "gave up" after college. Isn't the adjustment from a team atmosphere to solo running a difficult one? Thoughts please.