Is it a good goal to qualify for the olympic marathon trials my senior year of college?

It's all about you, bro. If this is a legit dream of yours, do it. You can still do your track and xc seasons in college to gain speed and people to train with. Just use your off seasons to build mileage and do longer races.

I ran at this past trials and ran at a solid D1 program. OP ignore anyone on this thread saying to try and qualify while in college. One of the biggest benefits of college is the team environment. Your teammates will push you to be better and are invaluable as training partners. In the long run you'll be much better off developing at the shorter distances and then moving up post collegiate.

Another factor to consider is word on the street is the half standard is going to be significantly faster next go around. From what I've heard I think it will be 63:30 or faster, maybe 64 tops. Meaning the marathon will probably be the easier route to qualify. Some college coaches may let you run a half during the off season but if you're asking how good do I need to be my guess is you won't be a 63 low guy anytime soon. Exactly 0 good D 1 or top D2 coaches are going to let you do a full while you run for them, end of story. For those saying do it during the off season or screw the coach, remember they control your scolarship and spot on the team, even over the summer you don't get to do whatever you want.

Most colleges training programs don't mesh well for marathon training since you won't be racing over 10K in college.

When are you a senior in college relation to the trials? Are the trials after you graduate because then this might be feasible. You can factor your long term goals and what training program meets your needs the most when making your college decision. But also remember college coaches aren't 100% truthful with recruits all the time. They may tell you we'll work something out as far qualifying to the marathon trials in the recruiting process and then backtrack once you're there.

Also just to be clear, I did not qualify for the thon trials until after college.

I qualified for OTs with a half during my 5th year (I had indoor track left, qualified during the cross country season when I did not have eligibility). Your best bet is to run a half after a cross country season, with the right program. We were mileage heavy and threshold oriented, and the training program was probably optimized for half marathon success as well as 10K cross country (IMO, very similar events). If the half standard is moved down to 63:30, that is pretty salty, but I think could be manageable if you are a top 30 or so D1 XC guy.

If you are wanting to do a marathon, my suggestion would be to redshirt an outdoor or cross country season and try early fall (Chicago?) or spring (no idea).

I also suggest mileage. Had a buddy get VERY close right out of college (65-mid) in pretty bad conditions, and he only ran like 9:40 in high school. Talent is a factor, but what you run for 2 miles in high school is almost irrelevant. If you're durable and can handle heavy training, you can put yourself in a good position to run fast in the half or full.

D1 runner and Trials Qualifier wrote:

Exactly 0 good D 1 or top D2 coaches are going to let you do a full while you run for them, end of story.

Is Ed Eyestone not a good D1 coach? I'm pretty sure Ward ran a 'thon while at BYU, bro.

Qualifying is not a problem for any college runner. In fact, it would be pretty easy for someone at that level because the standard is very soft.

Contending is another issue. Just qualifying to pad your resume seems like a bad idea.

go sub 5 in the beer mile. better accomplishment imo

PAAAANDAAAAAAA!!

I think you should not just try to qualify for trials. When we set lofty goals we are much more likely to reach our potential. Aim for a gold medal, then if you fail you have a silver or a bronze. Failure to medal means you still made the team. (which means you made the trials). At present are you trying: 1) not get cut from the team; 2) trying to make the travel squad; 3) be top person; 4) lead team to conference, regional, national championship? Bottom line is don't undersell yourself. He/she can that thinks they can. Best of luck