Can anyone think of examples? Particularly in the U.S.? I'm just curious. Especially if they got into it later in life and still became elite (and I'm not talking about Masters competitors)
Can anyone think of examples? Particularly in the U.S.? I'm just curious. Especially if they got into it later in life and still became elite (and I'm not talking about Masters competitors)
If you weren't good enough for D1, just hang them up, man. You'll never be elite.
The only folks who became elite without running in college are Africans who never went to school. One dude was like a janitor or something.
Molly Pritz
Heather Utrata
How elite? I know at least one woman who didn't run for her college (but started running around then) and is now considered an elite marathoner, but she's not getting paid or anything and she's not in the running to win any really big races.
If you started late and you're just looking for reassurance then freaking go for it. I didn't start running until college and I'm getting there. Still kind of far but it is an eventual goal. The disadvantage is that you don't have as much of a base and you don't have as much race experience. So for a while you might make dumb mistakes and you might get hurt a lot trying to take on more than you can handle.
As a rule of thumb, I think it works to treat your first four years of running as your high school career, even if it happens later. For almost every competitive runner I know who stuck with it, extraordinary gains were made starting in the fifth year.
Ariana Hilborn
Ever heard of Evan Jager?
Probably have to resort to old school runners or furriners.
Marathoner (Olympian and runner-up at Boston and NYC) Kim Jones was a state champion in high school, but only ran a semester or so at college.
Lynn Jennings was a high school prodigy but didn't shine at all in college (best was a 49th at NCAA xc, never qualified for track NCAAs), but went on to win 3 WCs in cross country and a bronze medal in the Olympics.
For men, the ultimate blue collar guy has to be Phil Coppes. Was a good runner in high school, but never state champ or anything like that and he was not recruited by colleges. Went to work in a factory at 18 and picked up running again fairly late: maybe his mid-late 20s. He got quite good in short order (working full time in the factory while being a single dad) and ran 2:10 for the marathon.
Jen Toomey was a swimmer at DIII Tufts University. Didn't take up running until she was ~28, now holds the AR in the indoor 1000m last I checked.
Mike Reneau
* wrote:
Ever heard of Evan Jager?
Jager ran at Wisco for one year.
yagtash wrote:
Jen Toomey was a swimmer at DIII Tufts University. Didn't take up running until she was ~28, now holds the AR in the indoor 1000m last I checked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jen_Toomey
Likewise, Lisa Rainsberger was swimmer in college and went on to nab a series of just miss finishes at US Olympic Trials, ca 1984-92.
chinstrap not a penguin wrote:
yagtash wrote:Jen Toomey was a swimmer at DIII Tufts University. Didn't take up running until she was ~28, now holds the AR in the indoor 1000m last I checked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jen_ToomeyLikewise, Lisa Rainsberger was swimmer in college and went on to nab a series of just miss finishes at US Olympic Trials, ca 1984-92.
Oops cancel that. According to Wikipedia she stopped swimming while at University of Michigan (all-American) and began running there, and was a two time all American in xc before graduating. (also last American to win Boston!)
Ever heard of Nick Symmonds or Will Leer?
They were not DI, but DIII.
A lot of European runners. Jo Pavey, Julia Bleasdale, Dennis Jensen (Denmark), Carsten Jørgensen (Denmark, EXC champ), Carsten Schlangen
There's a dude in Utah named Fritz Van de Kamp who has won like 15+ marathons; he's around 29 yrs old right now I believe. Never ran in high school or college but picked it up on his own after. Even got cancer for a while but survived. Not super elite but I believe he's under 2:20.
Jill Gaitenby(sp?), now Jill Boaz. Didn't run in high school or college. Made a couple of World Champs teams, no Oly teams though.
xenonscreams wrote:
How elite? I know at least one woman who didn't run for her college (but started running around then) and is now considered an elite marathoner, but she's not getting paid or anything and she's not in the running to win any really big races.
I'm sure she is plenty fast, but she does not sound like an elite runner.
Don Norman and Darrell General, 2:11 and 2:15 marathon PRs come to mind. If you go back far enough in time or out of the US you'll find a lot more. Peter McArdle ran in the 1964 Olympics and didn't go to college. Old Kelly didn't. I don't think Jerome Drayton went to college. I'm sure Derek Clayton did not. Ron Clarke was trained as an accountant but I don't believe he actually went to college. None of Lydard's guys did except Snell and that was several years after his career was over.
Emil Zatopek and Paavo Nurmi never ran in college. Quite a few Kenyans and Ethipians too.
Olympic Marathoners Cathy O'Brien and Anne Laut were recruited to D1 schools (Oregon and Wake Forest) but quit their freshman years and didnt run in college.