26. Thinking of putting my life on hold to take one last shot at running in 2015.

You're 26. If you focus on running for the next 5 years and fail you'll have another 50 years to focus on other things. If you don't try, you may spend those 50 years regretting it.

OP: it sounds like you have already decided. Go for it. I can't imagine that you will regret it. Find a good coach and some training partners.

I did something similar, but I started out not being very good. I was currently in a PhD program (that I loved) and decided to devote the majority of my precious free time to running.

I joined a group of local runners that were better than me to push me in training. This is also a great social outlet. Again, this was a personal experiment and I started out not very good and ended up being regionally competitive.

I have no regrets on this time in my life and still run ~4-5 times/week. With family and career now the focus of my life, it would be very selfish for me to throw in the same time commitment that I once gave to running.

Chasing your dreams is usually a good decision, but sometimes you'll need hindsight to tell you the real benefit. Go for it!

Get after it, homie. Get after it. When you're 32, married with 2 kids and working a full time job (cough cough like me cough) you'll regret not taking the chance because the "free time" you have, is no longer free, it comes at the expense of time with your wife and children. (which means more than running miles)

The marathon WR is now 2:02. If you can't get within 8 minutes of it, what is the point of "putting your life on hold?"

never had my shot wrote:

...but with the Olympic trials being in 2016 and the marathon trials being next year,...

Huh? You are evidently confused on your dates.

Do it

Sure OP, I think you could for 1-2 years, it sounds like you must have been reasonably fast and don't seem to have started a real career yet. What is your major in? You may be able to find temp work that could give you decent money on the side.

One thing though, have an exit strategy, don't be doing part time gigs still in 7 years having run 2:25 and thinking if you just had your big break maybe you might qualify for the 2024 trials.

DO IT

DON REGRET NOT TAKING A CHANCES AT IT !!!

THE RESULTS ARE IRRELEVANT

WHAT MATTERS IS YOUR ATTEMPT , AND DISH EL ING ANY REGRET YOU WILL HAVE IF YOU DON !!!

Your only young once so do it now !!!!

It's not the critic who counts. It's not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled. Credit belongs to the man who really was in the arena, his face marred by dust, sweat, and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs to come short and short again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. It is the man who actually strives to do the deeds, who knows the great enthusiasm and knows the great devotion, who spends himself on a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement. And, who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and cruel souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

I wouldn't drop out of a PhD program just to focus on running. You can absolutely put in some good training while in grad school, hell, some people's version of "putting their lives on hold for running" is going to grad school (e.g. Frank Shorter).

What are you PRs? Post your running resume.

What is your goal that will make your 'comeback' successful or worth the effort? Is that goal realistic?

never had my shot wrote:

...maybe taking time off from my life and really focusing on running for two years or so might be worth it.

Are you willing to be totally poor? Purchase nothing, never eat in a restaurant, have no money to take someone out for a date, canceling cable and internet, reading books and going online at the library? Are you ready for the negative perception and comments you'll get from family and friends telling you what a mistake you're making and inferring that they're let down with you?

If so, go for it.

Don't do it.

#1: If you had Olympic potential, you would almost certainly have attained that status by now. 26 isn't young, and high school success isn't a predictor of adult success.

#2. You don't want to be 30 years old and nowhere in your professional life because you pissed precious years of your life away jogging. You don't want to end up in a position where you're interviewing for jobs with people 5+ years younger than you.

#3. You don't have to put your life on hold to train at an elite level. An eight hour workday leaves eight other waking hours available which is more than enough to do almost any type or amount of training. Regardless of what the sheep on LRC say to the contrary, it is NOT necessary to do two-a-days nor hit any arbitrary mileage target.

The question is, will the Brojos coach you for free?

I took several years off too see how good a runner I could be.

I wasn't national level but I was a good local level runner. I never regretted taking the time off.

It bumped me up a level or two in competition.

It took a few years to. "catch" back up in my career.

The real issue is whether you want to have a family in your late 20s or early 30s or whether are ok waiting until you are in your late 30s. It is also an issue if you want a big family or just one kid and done. If you want a big family or want to get started sooner than later, then taking time out now to live in a tiny apartment in Flagstaff with a bunch of dudes will have a significant effect on your life. It will be very difficult to get back into the real world and make enough money to support a family without feeling like you are always behind (of course if you marry a rich girl, this is moot). But if you can wait and do not want a big family, you will have plenty of time to turn things around and find a good job before starting a family.

I was in music up to age 29. I did not even make as much money as the mail man. I was able to get out and get into a new profession (law). But I was in no shape economically to support kids until my late 30s. My musician friends who had kids in their late 20s early 30s when they were still making peanuts had a lot of hardship financially. The ones who had to get out and get real jobs had no options and ended up selling cars and teaching elementary school music. They had to live in the cheap suburbs and save every penny. The ones who got out earlier or held off on having kids were able to move into a real profession (doctors, lawyers, computer engineer, etc.).

never had my shot wrote:

At the same time, I really hate the idea of wondering "what could I have done" the rest of my life? It's just hard for me to break away and focus on running exclusively since I am currently one semester into a PhD program (but hating it).

Anyone done something like this? What were your results? How do you feel about your decisions?

Move to Flagstaff or Portland,

live with 5+ other post-collegiate runners,

work part time for minimum wage in a coffee shop,

pretend you are an elite runner by hanging out with as many of them as you can,

get it out of your system,

and then start living your life.

I have seen so many post college runners follow this path. If it's going to bug you to the point of insanity then I would suggest you go for it and get it out of your system.

Anyone that runs slower than 2:10 is a hobby-jogger.