Would you turn down a job because it would mean you couldn't run competitively?

Eat plants

Thanks for the replies everyone. The consensus seems to be take the job. I guess I just need to improve my time management to keep up running then!

Mr E wrote:

I wouldn't be happy in a job that leaves me without enough time to take care of myself. I wouldn't turn down a job because of running, but I would turn down a job because it is going to make me an unhappy person. You can't spend your whole life delaying gratification.

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I choose jobs with work/life balance as one of the primary factors (running being just one of the factors to consider for "life", but still an important one). So for me, such a job wouldn't be worth it. I think this is doubly true if you'd lose time on a commute. Working time in some ways is actually preferential to commute time.

It would really depend on the job and how much I wanted it and how much I think I'd enjoy it, but so far, I've shied away from prestigious/well-paying jobs to find decent ones with low hours. I have a lot of hobbies though, and everyone is different. I also don't have a particular drive to succeed career-wise although I wish I did.

I have a job similar to your second option and I'm pretty happy.

yes

would absolutely turn down a job

running training racing fitness is just as important that a job

and there are great jobs everywhere !

Speaking for New York -- if you're single or childless just live in the city. Hours might be long but you can keep the commute down. Awesome running scene, several strong training groups, plenty of good places to run. The difference between a short commute from the city and a longer commute (that some of your coworkers would be doing ) to/from the burbs is about 100 minutes a day (e.g. about 20 minutes each way for you, 70min for them. There's your training time right there.

If you have kids the choice is harder. I ended up making a move to the Philly suburbs because it was a much better deal (housing is quite affordable even in top school districts, and they were offering decent money compared to the NY job). I was married and had just had my first kid. Decided it was time to take the money and run (figuratively and literally) I have a great professional network but if my current gig didn't work out I'd be likely to require a relocate. In a city like New York, if you need or want to change jobs you probably won't need to relocate.

If you're single I'd say it's a no brainer -- take the big city. If you have kids, I'd say go big or go somewhere else.

Part of it depends on what stage you are in your running career. A couple examples:

Scenario 1: You have a 32 minute 10K PR. You're 24 years old and your training has been inconsistent the past couple years because of injuries. You think you have a lot of untapped potential and don't really know how much faster you can be.

Scenario 2: You have a 32 minute 10K PR. You're 33 years old and have been training consistently for the past 10-15 years with a lot of satisfying races during that time. You'd like to give it one last go around and think you can maybe run faster by working harder but aren't positive.

In Scenario 2, you should take the job. Scenario 1 is tough.

I personally would turn down the job if the main benefit is the job looking better on the resume. There may also be benefits to living in London/NYC instead of where you are now, which adds another dimension to things.

Personally, I've realized that running means a lot to me and I'm willing to sacrifice for it. Sometimes that means get into the office later after a workout or leaving earlier than I otherwise would have to get enough sleep.

Would I be better at my job if I wasn't doing this? Yes. Not way better, but somewhat better. But 10 years from now I know I'll be much prouder of what time I ran in a half this fall than I would be getting promoted 6 months earlier. At the end of the day running is more than a hobby and a job is just a job.

I'm in the first scenario. Neither job will start for a few months so I'll mull it over.

Take the job. Live in you office at work. Buy an expensive treadmill for your office.

One thing I'm curious about -- why the assumption that the big city will mean a longer commute ? I would think that if you take the big city job you have the option of living close to work which would likely make the difference between being able to train or not able to train (there are going to be some coworkers who do a longer commute from the suburbs. Some of them might have to worry about things like school districts, enough square footage for a family, etc. You can give yourself about a 90 minute head start on them)

Went through a similar dilemma a few months ago. Got a promotion that I knew would involve killer hours, making training difficult. Made a tough decision and took it. Generally am glad that I made the decision I made, but there are pros and cons for either choice.

A few things:

Fulfillment can come from anything you put your best effort into. When I was working a less demanding job, I was more passionate about running and the thought of investing anything less than my best into it was unthinkable. Now that I'm more immersed in my job, I care about my professional input more than I ever did. I'm still running competitively, but it feels less life or death. If I have bad workouts because I'm exhausted, it's not the end of the world.

I highly recommend moving closer to the new job. That was part of the deal I made for myself. I wanted to keep running and take the job so I used some of the extra $ to get a place within walking distance. It's totally overpriced and I'm not saving much $, but I'm young, building up a professional reputation and able to continue with the sport I love. That's enough for now. Would obviously be different if I had a family to support.

As for actually being able to do both at a high level, the jury's still out. My results have been less consistent since I took this job, but I've had some very good races. There are weeks where I feel like training is a nightmare and quitting is inevitable and weeks where I feel like I could keep up forever. But I know I'm a much more effective person in all facets of life if I have too much on my plate, rather than too little. Not everybody's like this. You'll have to figure out what environment is best for you.

It also helps that I don't plan on doing this forever (neither competitive running nor my current job). So I can think day-to-day without really dwelling on how demanding of a life it's become.

Ultimately, running is just a game but so is life. If it makes you happy, you'll find a way to keep up with it. But you don't have to be so absolutist as to pick running or working hard. If you take this job you'll force yourself to be extremely disciplined and learn a lot about yourself.

As an american your destiny is simple. You were born to produce, consume and die.

You know what to do

Submit and take the job

If you are good and believe you could be great, and you take the job, you will never know. You will always wonder. You're only young for so long in your life. You will never be able to compete at your current level 15 years from now. If you believe the question of how good you can be does not exist, or is not important to you, then take the job.

You've gotta figure out which brings you more joy. Climbing the corporate ladder or having a nice work-life balance and getting to run. Nobody can answer that but you.

Personally, I would tell you that I've lived in NYC and I've climbed the ladder. Now I live in south Florida and I gave up the chance of reaching the highest of high ceilings for a lower ceiling, but much better quality of life all around. So obviously I say take the quality of life upgrade and enjoy the limited time you have on this planet, but to each their own.