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

Jizzmo wrote:

This is as close to running with \"the team\" as I\'ve had since college- 15 yrs ago. The one thing I did miss was the weekend long runs with \"the guys\" where we\'d just BS along the way, make fun of each other, talk about women, etc.. Kinda got that back now, and it\'s pretty cool.

this is the reason, of course, why the letsrun message board exists.

Those were sweet days.

I miss them.

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i think a lot of people run in college just to be part of the team (more so on the d3 level) and they enjoy doing it as a team so then when the team is gone they stop running altogether. I don't get how these people ran in the first place though, cuz most of them claim to not like running at all, yet they run. And when college is over they pretty much never run again.

For the rest of people who stop running after college i think most people are too concerned with "moving on in life" which i think is a ridiculous concept. Moving on in life doesn't mean you can't still do things you love. Life doesn't have to stop for you to have a career.

I feel sorry for those who complain that they have no time to run and the only obstacle is work. A career plus a family would make it hard, yet plenty of people still train that way. But if a job alone takes up so much of your life that you can't fit a run somewhere in the day then in my opinion thats buying way too much into the idea that work should be life.

I mean each person has to choose what makes them happy and maybe for some people spending all their energy and time at a job is what makes them happy. But i am surprised that more people don't keep trianing after college, since no one should be near their peak at the age of about 22. I mean when you are getting out of college that is the point in your life when you should be really just starting to find out how good you can be. That is basically the very beginning of the peak running years. I mean assuming you don't go immediately into a full time career AND get married within a couple years, which most people don't, i'm surprised more people don't actually see how good they can get.

I'm a little bit out of college and I can't wait to see just how good i can become at running over the next 5 to 10 years. I wouldn't really want to be married for at least 5 more years and I'm not too concerned about having a career that makes other assets of my life disappear since i'm just out of college and have some 40+ years to work. Afterall i only have probably less than 10 years to reach my running potential. So that is more of a priority than a career is. There is much more to life than work. Of course i bet some people will reply with theres more to life than running, but we all know thats just silly. I enjoy a nice balance of 40 hour work weeks with a good amount of working out as well as hanging out with friends. Not too hard if you want it.

some logic wrote:

I think it comes doing to having a love for running to continue doing it whether you are a stud or do it for fun. My gripe is this... Why does everyone make their job sound so difficult and use it as an excuse for not running (family is understandable)? If you graduated from college, you are most likely not laying brick or doing some other form of hard physical labor. Going to the office is 8-10 hours of recovery between workouts. Plus you probably have a lot more money to spend on quality food and gear as opposed to eating Mac 'n Cheese w/ tuna and wearing cotton running clothes. It seems running post collegiate is much easier as I don't have class hanging over my head and no studying on the weekends. I also recommend marrying a lady who also runs.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Oh my- to be that young and naive again.

So I'm curious about how many of you guys who threw in the towell after college regretted it? Was your career worth it? Was the money worth it? Obviously if you started a family right away (lunacy from my point of view) you didn't really have a choice. But do you guys ever wish you had taken the working career a little less seriously? Sure, I'm not saying you guys would have earned a shoe deal and made the olympics, but that's sure not my motivation for putting off a "real job".

I think everyone just accepts that they need to live the average American life style. And that life style includes a lot of consumption...which requires a 40 plus hour/week job at a minimum. You'd be surprised how little you need to live a good life.

totally agree with ya pope t-bag

I think that the two "camps" on this question seem to be debating two different questions. Those of you who kept competing after college say that it's always possible to make time to train hard if you want to compete badly enough.... well, you're right, and NOBODY IS DEBATING THAT. The other posters are basically saying that they've come to points in their life where they find greater meaning or reward in using their time in other ways. This is not equivalent to saying their job takes up all their time and that's all there is to it. It's a much more complex issue. Busy people who have multiple talents understand the value of every minute of the day, and the cost of two hours a day may outweigh the personal benefits of training to compete. There are many things in life that bring meaning, and as I said before, not all of them are as "selfish" as the training lifestyle. Most of you who are still competing-- not ALL, just MOST who have posted here-- seem to have little else that is important to you, and that's totally fine, but some people have families, spouses, or jobs that MEAN A LOT to them (I know it may be hard for you to believe that not everyone is working only for that extra buck, but it's true). Choosing not to COMPETE is not the same as choosing not to run-- the sport is not defined by competition.

And again, because training benefits are fleeting, if you stop competing and regret it, it's relatively straightforward to rearrange your life and get back into a training routine if you once again decide that competition is worth those two hours every day.

Fair enough. The negative attitudes toward those who do continue on around here is disconcerting at times though and I'm sometimes shocked to hear this attitude from supposed "runners." Well put though.

As someone who has attempted to continue training hard after college, i agree a lot with what you're saying. Only by working at a running store and phasing out other interests in my life have I been able to have the time and dedication necessary to train and compete. It takes sacrifices for sure: money, social life, other hobbies, not to mention energy, and sometimes it's hard to justify running. Either the fire burns or it doesn't, you want it or you don't. It's definately a selfish pursuit, but if that's whats makes you feel good then it's worth it. I've quit numerous times but always came back for the same reasons : I just wasn't satisfied yet. I'm sure many others weren't satisfied, but once life and job and family get the way, the equation gets pretty complicated. Fortunately I don't have shit going on so I can concentrate on running.