Josh McDougal running update 3/1/12

Awww snap. Too bad now the US elite scene is much tougher than when he left it.

Not sure if you read the whole thing or not but he mentioned no plans of coming back, just enjoying running for the joy of it.

I didn’t bring up girls cross country because due to title 9 the process isn’t the same. 20 spots on a men’s cross country roster is not hard to achieve, it’s just hard to achieve while still having a well-rounded track roster. Women’s running doesn’t face these issues as much because there are more scholarships for women’s track, and most schools are more than happy to continue to grow their cross country rosters. Particularly because a distance runner counts essentially as a “3” to NCAA compliance numbers, because they run cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. The NCAA essentially counts this as 3 different sports, so a runner who does all 3 is essentially taking up 3 roster spots. For men this is a horrible thing that keeps a lot of schools from being able to invest the numbers that they need into distance, for girls it’s a great opportunity because very few schools athletic directors mind how big you can grow your women’s roster. The only real challenge that I face in recruiting women is the interest in competing in college is just not the same as for guys. I receive 5 or 6 letters from guys interested in running for the program for every one girl that writes. To top it all off it is practically impossible to get a decent girl to walk on if you have no scholarship $ left for recruiting that year, as they can get offers just about anywhere. In the NCAA these days just about any 9:30s guy understands that if he wants to run on a decent team he is going to have to walk on, if it’s a top 10 program its probably a lot closer to a 9:10 guy who might be walking on.

At the end of the day for me it’s the only real frustrating thing about my job. Title 9, equality and fairness is a good idea, it’s just the system in place is broken. Our top guy Zac who came here for grad school essentially was a walk on at the University of Alabama, a 9:20s guy who worked his butt off, and his freshmen year they were handing out full athletic scholarships on his dorm to any girl who would be willing to join the rowing team. At most schools it might not be this extreme, but I know plenty of guys with similar stories, and at the end of the day the NCAA is really doing a poor job of being “fair” to most non-football male athletes.

He doesn't bash people over the head with his faith unlike Tebow.

Go back to when he was still running, McDougal was hated at Rupp like levels for his Christianity. When they went 1-2 at NCAA XCs that one year, it was like the ultimate body blow to the haters. Looks like you weren't around for those years or have forgotten.

That was a great piece! I hope he finds what he is looking for. Khalid K. also had the leg length difference that lead to serious of foot injuries that he couldn't come back from.

tvsleep wrote:

Not sure if you read the whole thing or not but he mentioned no plans of coming back, just enjoying running for the joy of it.

False, he just said that he wouldn't have a come back for at the very earliest 6 months:

"I certainly would be open to coaching/advising post collegiate athletes. I think that door will open itself up to me the older that I get. Right now I am still pretty young, and definitely have not given up on my dreams of being a post collegiate athlete. Coaching has completely reinvigorated me, and for the first time in 4 years I can say that I love the sport. I have no ambitions of competing any time soon, but I ran 10 miles with the guys this morning, and I have been putting in some reasonable mileage. Some weeks are more than others, and there really is no reason or rhyme to my training at this point, but I am having fun with it. Right now I am the closest to being healthy that I have been in 4 years, and more than that I am looking forward to the opportunity to run each morning, not dreading it. I’m giving myself another 6 months to a year of focusing on having fun. Rehabbing, and training recreationally. If at any point during this process I find myself healthy, I’ll then think about committing myself to getting into shape again."

Coaches, is his situation similar to yours? 6 guy recruits to 1 female?

How Quickly We Forget wrote:

Go back to when he was still running, McDougal was hated at Rupp like levels for his Christianity. When they went 1-2 at NCAA XCs that one year, it was like the ultimate body blow to the haters. Looks like you weren't around for those years or have forgotten.

Zealot - "I know the will of God!"

God - "Cool story bro."

That was a pretty great read. It's nice to see him enjoying the sport again.

How Quickly We Forget wrote:

Go back to when he was still running, McDougal was hated at Rupp like levels for his Christianity. When they went 1-2 at NCAA XCs that one year, it was like the ultimate body blow to the haters. Looks like you weren't around for those years or have forgotten.

Nope, Rupp was hated more than McDougal back then. Rupp never won NCAA titles until the following year. He was ridiculed for not winning a championship race, getting access to all the Nike facilities long before turning pro, and for being Saladbar's protege, etc. I remember those days very well.

McDougal was also made fun of for being a Christian, funny how nobody would dare ridicule an American college runner if he said he was a Muslim (that's another argument).

Rupp was hated way more. People loved that McDougal beat the 'spolied' Rupp

As for the Christian comment, people do not react to Christianity per se, they react when they feel that the athlete is proselytizing. However, there is a difference between sincere expression of belief and an effort to covnert.

Meh.

All runners are crazy. At least the good ones. Sometimes it is a surplus of sanity that keeps runners from reaching their potential.

Crazy people say crazy things. So when McDougal or Hall say weird things about their faith, it isn't their faith that is crazy, it is the crazy person saying it.

From where I stand, runners are my kind of crazy. It doesn't matter which brand of invisible sky-friend is telling them what to do.

Check out this quote from Mohammed Ahmed: All American Muslim:

"If I did not have Islam in my life, I truly believe I would not be the same person I am today. I would be following my desires way too much and I think my running would suffer as a consequence. … I would be womanizing and partying…and other things that college students and people of my age are doing. … All I focus on is my school and my running, which is balanced by my religion."

You average Beer-Belly McBro fraternity brother would think this man is certifiable. He turns to religion to "protect" him from getting laid and partying? That is nuts.

The take home here is not that any one brand of invisible sky-friend is crazy. It is that *elite runners* are crazy. They are OUR KIND OF CRAZY. Sure we'll make fun of things that stand out, but the fact that these people are runners is waaaaaaaaaaaay more important that the name of the invisible sky-friend that tells them not to go out on Friday and to get up for 20 milers early Saturday.

This about nails it.

hks321 wrote:

That was a great piece! I hope he finds what he is looking for. Khalid K. also had the leg length difference that lead to serious of foot injuries that he couldn't come back from.

Have you seen his wife? He found what he was looking for. The people around you can be more important than running.

Just A Fan wrote:

As for the Christian comment, people do not react to Christianity per se, they react when they feel that the athlete is proselytizing. However, there is a difference between sincere expression of belief and an effort to covnert.

I've never seen McDougal or Hall try to convert anyone, yet the atheists/agnostics react with hate just for simple descriptions on how their faith interacts with their running.

Great piece. Josh's personal experience and educational study in kinesiology should give him a unique skill set as a distance coach. If everything continues to track accordingly, he will soon be working with one of my athletes at Liberty.

Anyone mocking a Christ follower for his/her faith is literally fulfilling what Jesus Christ prophesied. Luke 6:22 says, "Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake."

People don't mock Josh McDougal, Ryan Hall, or Tim Tebow, etc. because of who they are. They mock Jesus Christ. Even still, 2000 years after the fact, there are people DEEPLY offended by Jesus Christ. Does it have something to do with the fact that according to Him, they are living the wrong way?

With his coaching, running success and the best blogs I've read- Everyone should appreciate his awesome contributions to the sport.

I don't think people are deeply offended by Christ, Buddha, Muhammed...

People are offended when those teachings come with a personal agenda attached to it.