Why did you quit running?

flirting with the idea. 25 and took the winter off to let my knees recover. went hiking this past weekend and was still aching while going downhill...

realized that in order to break any type of PR, will need to train at the same mileage and intensity as during college. this is now more difficult living in a "runner-less" town leaving myself solo on every run. what becomes the point? not running on a team any more. one might run a local 5k and bring a home a medal. who cares? lately have been running everyday for the fitness, building up mileage, wondering if its worth still running. perhaps start coaching? a difficult decision for any athlete that has surrounded their life w/ their sport and team mates.

Quit: Had to have my ankle reconstructed. Recovery was painful and took forever so decided never to quit.

10yrs later

Return to running: Some dude at a party was going on and on about how dope he was at running. Was annoyed b/c the dude knew nothing about running. So, I asked him where he was running his next race and started training the next day.

Childish, I know.

"I put in 70-80 miles per week but can barely break 40 for a 10K. I am too damn slow to feel rewarded by running and it's embarrassing to be out there."

If this is true, get a new hobby. Really not worth that much effort and time put in. There is more to life than running.

Decided to walk away from running after my soph year in college. Had missed 5 of 6 seasons in two years with injuries..was frustrated to all ends and confidence was total shit. I had really felt like I had a honest future in running too, all-american in the 8 in HS, with what seemed like a ton of room to improve. In college had a very successful coaching staff, amazing teammates..the D1 dream come true. In the end though I had become someone who could only identify with running..I couldnt look passed it, and let it dictate my outlook on life.

That said, took some time to completely forget about athletics...fattened up nicely. Took advantage of just living the stereotypical frat boy lifestyle in college..pure pleasure. Slowly got back around to exercising...hittin the stationary bike daily for some low impact high cardio to shed some pounds. Eventually started working in some weight room sessions, began seeing gains, and never have looked back.

Have just stacked on lbs of muscle in 2 years and wish I had only started sooner. Still get up and put in an easy morning run, maybe 20min, but then hit the gym 6 days/wk (split workout routine for those meat heads reading this).

The lean mass Ive put on has been amazing for my appearance and confidence. I wont diminish for a second the feeling you get being in peak fitness for cross or on the track, but now that I move forward in life I just gain so much more satisfaction out of being a guy who can stand his ground physically. Plus, muscles keep the girls interested...not 5k PR's.

For anyone itching to find some new salvation in the form of fitness...start throwing some weights around. Find what works for you, develop a habit...take the focus you once had for banging out mileage and see your body and confidence grow to new levels. A couple days a week throw in a few easy miles on foot or bike when you wake up.. but devote yourself to the weight room. Absolutely guarantee you will be asking yourself why you didn't do it sooner.

Peace bros

Permanent knee injury at 23. Best thing that ever happened to me because it forced me to move on. I still enjoy the sport as a fan but have much more of a life now.

Ran 3.48 as 16 yo and just trained too hard too soon. Biggest regret ever. Got stressies plus had average bimechanics. Still yearn for it. Just love it. Now 42 and stlll feel like unfinished business, now Hammies, calfs etc failing. But head still keen. My advice to talented youngsters volume over quality during developmental years. Tough one as you never know when it all ends!

isuckballs wrote:

i quit because i sucked balls. i was not gonna go anywhere with it or become a professional, annnnnnd chicks do not dig guys who are super skinny.

LPT: they didn't dig you when you were a runner because of your obnoxious personality. The skinny excuse was just a cop-out.

never surrender wrote:

Didn't even start til I was 36, having a blast!

Having a blast? Easily entertained I guess.

Sp!kes wrote:

never surrender wrote:

Didn't even start til I was 36, having a blast!

Having a blast? Easily entertained I guess.

In this guys boat. Started fiddling with running in my early 20s. Mostly not running but always wanting to be into it. Was still dedicated to another sport. In my early 30s I slowly started getting more regular. Mid 30s I got yoked into "training" for a halfathon and it's been running running running ever since. Hell, I wish I quit my other sport sooner.

I'll always be a little jealous of you guys who ran on teams. Although I'm sure the reality can be less than the dream.

Well, the smoking is weird. Seriously, what the hell? Stop doing that even if you never run again. 30 pounds heavier? Man, I've been as much as 62 pounds heavier than college...count calories, exercise a bit to help, and ANYONE CAN lose weight if they really want to.

75 hours a week working is weird too, but if you're single with no kids and you like it, then continue. I advise you to save 20% or more of that "wicked cash" while you're making it.

What's the goal of your "comeback"? You were never elite. You just want to get back to where you were? That's fine. Do you sacrifice "wicked cash" for that? I wouldn't.

BUT, you should stop smoking TODAY, invest 20% OR MORE if you can of that "wicked cash", return to running for health and fitness...enter a road race once in a while just to see where you are.

This has got to be a pretty common one...

Graduated + Got a job with long hours + Moved in with girlfriend = called it a good career.

Like everyone else I wish I'd gone faster, but all-in-all it was a fulfilling 8 years

Time to focus on the next chapter: work and family.

Posterior tibial tendonitis. I'm able to run 3-4 miles a day without much discomfort, but I don't get satisfaction out of jogging 20-30 minutes per day, so I switched to cycling and hammer away at the bike as long as I desire.

I ran a 34:22 10,000 meter in high school as a 16 year old which I thought was not fantastic, but decent enough and only the beginning. But I then spent 4 years in college (D II, obviously) trying to run enough miles to run a good 5 and 10 K but just could not run the miles. By the end of college I had two stress fractures, chronic knee pain, and could not run more than 20 miles a week. By the end of college I conceded to my inability to put in the miles to be a distance runner but I enjoyed being on the track team. I moved down and ran poorly in the the 800 (1:59) and 1,500 (4:09) just because I liked being on the track and team and had lots of friends. But it is not all that much fun racing on the track when you are not nearly as fit as you should be and you know it. Nor is it much fun being left back on some of the trips because you are too slow. 34:22 is still my 10,000 PR. I jog like 5-10 miles a week so I guess I still sort of run, well, jog. But I don;t really consider it running, so I guess it would be overuse injuries is why I do not run anymore.

g_d

After college with no competition just got bored running. Then really got tired of just being skinny. Stopped running and working out for about 6 years. Became the skinny guy with a gut so I got a gym membership and lifted for 2 years. Started running again but the boredom quickly returned. Then I came across Crossfit. A 20 minute crossfit workout was just better than the solitary 3 mile loop I ran after work. Those competitive juices returned. At 35 I'm in best shape ever. Can't run 1:52 half but with almost no running can jump in my local all comers meet and run a 20 minute 5K.

Don't be a wimp anymore. Smoke and drink? What a waste.

Others have it way harder than what you described.

I quit for 3 months once because I had cancer removal surgery.

It took me 3 solid years to return fully comfortably.

And I could tell so many more tough stories of friends and people I've met through the years like one where a girl went out the bed of a pick-up and it squashed a leg like a pancake. The leg was saved and she was able to run later in her life.

Why don't you read about Glenn Cunningham's tragedy. His silver medal 1500 race in Berlin is on youtube.

I went from a very good coach in high school to a very bad coach in college. I had always been injury prone, but it always came at the most inopportune times. So my freshmen year I had a decent xc season for how bad our coach was and pulled my hamstring right before conferences. So then I recovered and fought to get back in shape for indoor, got hurt right before the season. Then I put in another few months to get back in shape to make it back for the last few races of outdoor...got hurt.

After that I went home and really enjoyed running with my old HS friends and actually ended up in pretty good shape and I was tossing around the idea of going out for the team at the school I decided to transfer to. But I started working 12 hour days and never really got my motivation back.

Last summer I made an attempt to get back into it by just very slowly building up mileage. Eventually I found a couple training partners and I thought this is why I loved running. Then I got injured a few more times and remembered why I quit and I'm currently on the fence about going for it again or not.

Chronic nagging injuries (tendonitis in various places in my feet and ankles, stress fractures), plus I don't really enjoy running 7:30 miles with the same effort as I used to run 5:30s. Took up swimming and cycling instead, its a lot easier on my 30 year old body.

I used to laugh at the idea that running too much wears your joints out, but I think after training seriously from age 8 to 26 or so, I did just that.

altoona tuna wrote:

I put in 70-80 miles per week but can barely break 40 for a 10K. I am too damn slow to feel rewarded by running and it's embarrassing to be out there.

How old are you? 70-80 miles per week seems like an awful lot of running for someone who can barely break 40 minutes for a 10k.

isuckballs wrote:

i quit because i sucked balls. i was not gonna go anywhere with it or become a professional, annnnnnd chicks do not dig guys who are super skinny.

I agree with you! When I cut back on running, I was able to put on some muscle, which women do notice. I now in my mid-30s and only run 15-20 miles a week, usually no more than 3 miles at a time, although I run them hard. I can still run about 5:30 for a mile, although my endurance drops off for longer races. I can barely break 21 for a 5k, but it is ok with me.