Should I quit college track?

3/10

There's more at play than the training. The training would have to be outrageously bad for you to be running so poorly in-season.

well whats your college training been like (when your with this coach)? Do you disagree with his workouts? What about the other kids on the team?If you think you would run better by yourself than why not, you already stated you've run faster training on your own.

frankly frank wrote:

I was a star runner in highschool running sub 900 in the deuce, running around 412 for the full mile and I was a footlocker finalist. Now that I've been in college for the last 4 seasons I've been running like shit. My college PRS have been 405 1500, high 15s for 5k, and running in the back of the pack in cross country with a 26 high 8k pr on a very flat course. The thing is I always run well when I'm not being coached by this guy, I was a sub 31 10k guy this summer in a few road races and a sub 1500 5k guy when I just coached myself. My question is should I quit this college running thing and just run unattached/ maybe for a small shoe sponsorship or should i tough it out and continue running for this university?

the reason I'm still running is I don't want to miss the experience of being a d1 athlete and I'm afraid I'll regret it years from now if I quit

Eh, I quit college xc/track after one year. It was the hardest decision of my life because running was so important to me. I probably should have just transferred, but I didn't decide to leave until June and then didn't want to transfer again, plus I didn't think I'd get any scholarship money at a new school. Just for the record, most of the people who run for the school I did left. It's a high profile school and the coach is a good recruiter (he lies through his teeth to get you to come there).

I think leaving the college scene was a good decision, but I'd be lying if I said I feel fulfilled with my running. I'm training alone and have entered some races, which I did run well in, but running alone just isn't the same as with a team. In some ways it's better. I have more time and can train however I want, but I also have no companions to share my running with. I have to pay to see a PT or chiro or doctor if I get hurt, which I refuse to do unless it's something serious, and this has caused my recovery from injuries to take a lot longer.

The thing is, running at my school was the most miserable experience of my life. The coach turned something I loved more than anything into something I hated more than anything. On my own I'm back to loving running and am just happier in general. I can't tell you what to do. It's a big decision either way. Just do what you think is best and try not to think about couldas wouldas shouldas.

you got the D! experience you were looking for. High pressure and no coaching. Go to a D@ school where you are allowed to develop as a person and an athlete.

When are you kids going to learn that the "D1 experience" sucks for all but the very best at the very best schools.

Being an athlete and getting better at any level is better then being run into the ground by either a guys who is looking to move up, a guy who has reached the D! level and is just glad he got there or being at a D1 school that doesn't give a shit about cross country and track so they just hire some ham and eggger to be a van driver.

If I had it to do over again, I would have gone to a school where the coach didn't give a shit about WHAT I did. Instead I went D1 and the coach didn't give a shit about HOW I did.

Don't forget about D# schools.

i was a decent runner, couple time all-ACC and one time all-american, and was faced with the same decision my 5th year.

i decided to quit and don't regret it at all, in fact, it was nice being a regular college kid for a year and not having that huge time commitment.

ultimately, i quit because i knew that doing well in grad school was more important for my future than doing well in track. also, i no longer was having fun, and i always said that when it was no longer fun i would quit. no sense doing something you don't enjoy.

juicy miler wrote:

i was a decent runner, couple time all-ACC and one time all-american, and was faced with the same decision my 5th year.

i decided to quit and don't regret it at all, in fact, it was nice being a regular college kid for a year and not having that huge time commitment.

ultimately, i quit because i knew that doing well in grad school was more important for my future than doing well in track. also, i no longer was having fun, and i always said that when it was no longer fun i would quit. no sense doing something you don't enjoy.

I had an experience almost identical to this guy and Not My Usual Handle (except I wasn't as fast). I looked into transferring to a smaller program, but would have lost my partial scholarship dollars and lost too many credits. I couldn't afford it, so I ran until my senior year. I am now in my mid-30's and have never for a single day regretted that I didn't run my senior year. Many of my teammates also quit, along with high school friends that went to other major D1's, but most of the ones that stuck it out were so burned out, they haven't run since college. I am slow now, but I trained moderately until a few years ago, and I consistently ran within a few seconds of my PR's, with much less pressure and stress.

Transfer to another college.

release shift wrote:

Don't forget about D# schools.

Thumbs-up.

His training is a little bit different then what I am used too. My freshman year I just thought it was a matter of adapating but now a year later I think it may just be poor coaching on an indivual basis.

Just a side note I wouldn't quit running all together at all but would probaley run on a semi pro club team in the area, I still have goals I want to accomplish.

It's interesting that u guys in America are so reliant on colleges. Here in Australia we don't get many track scholarships (unless u are Gregson) and even if u do u can train with your own coach. Its more of a club based system.

Why can't u train yourself (or with another coach) and still run for the college? If your good enough why do they care? If u ran a 3:55 mile would they really not let u race for them cause u didn't do the sessions?