How is it being sub-elite?

Wow, there have been lots of good comments in this thread, but damn this one just slapped me upside the head... what am I scared of? Why am I even seeking approval from strangers to do something I've always wanted to do? I've got a job that's not too demanding, and girlfriend that thinks I should just go for it, what am I waiting for?

Thanks for the advice, it's time to stop questioning this.

Life Direction wrote:

Fairness Matters wrote:

To be serious for a second, read this article.

http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/they-might-be-ryans-talented-young-runners-look-to-prove-themselves

Thanks for posting the link, there's a lot of good insight into that kind of life in here!

This article really opened my eyes

I say go for it - if you've got the time and desire to push to see how far you can make it - do it. But if you're a smart runner, it's important to plan this out before you say f it, and try.

Give yourself a timetable. Go to Kenya and train at altitude. Be prepared for rough times, but it's all about a positive attitude.

Smoove wrote:

Sub-sub-elite is where it's at.

This⬆

A.S wrote:

Im in the same position, in college i ran sub 14/29 and have since mostly moved on to HM where I have gone slightly under 1:05.

I have a full time job so fitting in the 100+mpw that is needed to maintain and improve is hard. Sometimes I wonder how good I could get if I quit my job

Impressed. Good luck to you!

do you have a good supprt system if you get injured?

How old are you?I wonder how much something like health care costs contribute to decisions like this? In the states if you're only working part-time you're not going to have good coverage, if any, which is a serious concern. If we had some sort of single payer/universal health care coverage would more guys in this position be willing or able to take another few years post-college to see how far they could go?I drifted away in my early 20s, before I was even done college. For the rest of my life I'll regret not sticking with it seriously through my late 20s--and I wasn't as talented as you are.

A.S wrote:

Im in the same position, in college i ran sub 14/29 and have since mostly moved on to HM where I have gone slightly under 1:05.

I have a full time job so fitting in the 100+mpw that is needed to maintain and improve is hard. Sometimes I wonder how good I could get if I quit my job

Star wrote:

It's worth it.

Anyone who isn't an Olympic Champion is working real hard and falling short.

The challenge for anyone is to find out how fast you can run.

So it doesn't matter how you place because you can't control how good the competition is.

It's a great journey to seek your limits.

And sub-elites are needed to fill fields and push elites.

The sport needs runners at all levels to exist.

While I agree with this, pack fill pays nothing. In fact, a sub-elite is probably paying to race.

OP, there is nothing wrong with giving it a try for a few years. Don't do it half-way though. If you do it right, you will be living like a monk and probably working a little bit.

Try to build a social networking brand. If you are good at that kind of thing, it can become valuable while running sub-elite and getting directly paid nothing from races. This forum gets a few complainer posts about a random hobbyjogger with a huge social media following. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a way to generate some value via equipment sponsorships/local store or whatever while being sub-elite.

Just an FYI, 20th at Peachtree last year was 31:54 and 30th was 33:18. I know conditions can be brutal but still that's a long way from sub-elite. You could be a lot higher up in some major races if you're dipping under 30:00.

Life Direction wrote:

What is it like being middle of the pack for the Oly Trials or top 20-30 at a major race (Falmouth or Peach Tree for instance)?

I will say that I used ages 22-26 to focus on running and postponed adult life.

I did get to run in the Olympic Trials, which was a nice accomplishment that I would not have had if I went straight to work after college.

I didn't make the finals. I didn't make money running.

I did have a sponsor that helped some with travel and equipment.

I'm in my mid 40s now and make decent money and have a good family and career.

I really don't see what I missed by not working full time for ages 22-26.

The overall picture worked out for me.

I like what Star says and I say go for it....there is a fine line though and you just need to set some boundaries. For example there are some friends of mine who postponed having children to just keep running 'one more trials' and now they are past child bearing age. I thought that I could juggle career, having kids and running at the next level. For me, I found that I could only manage 2 of 3 of those at one time. I ended up focusing on career and kids, and always wondered what if.....

runnerboy1 wrote:

Iten population 5k

Professional Runners in Iten 3k

Professional runners in Iten not exposed to out-of-competition testing: 3k

EPO leaves the body in 2-3 days. Bring a case of iron pills, your ferritin levels need to be elevated.

In six months, you'll lower your half marathon PR by five minutes.

I stepped away from one of the well funded training groups.

The group provided housing, equipment, medical, and travel.

I screwed up.

I was way too concerned with wanting to make others happy. I think about it everyday. I miss it everyday. Some of my former teammates are still at it and I am super jealous of the fun they continue to have.

Please yourself and don't try to impress or pleas others. The running thing is about you and only you.

Lots of good advice, and it sounds like you've convinced yourself to go for it. I love it!

One other bit of advice: you may be 'sub-elite' at a certain distance, but you could probably keep up with the elite field for a short stretch of a race. Pick a race or two where there might be more media or even TV attention, and get to the front for the first part of the race. The announcers will be forced to look up your name and say it repeatedly, especially if you grow an ironic mustache and mullet and have a clever shirt on. Then, as others have suggested, work your brand. Make sure you have an interesting blog that describes your quirkiness. Millions of followers.

the US running community needs people like you to help elevate standards, provide better racing opportunities, mentor future sub-elites + youth and to just build a stronger network. the sub-elite presence seems very weak and isolated in my view. we could have clubs all over the country with elite to sub-elite on down...instead we have a handful of cities with sporadic groups. it's no surprise the sport has no respect in the public sphere. there's zero presence

if you're looking for purpose beyond chasing your own dreams/times i think this could be a very appealing aspect - building the community. you could learn a lot from heading to a place like iten, but we could use people getting things going back here at home.

I came to the sport late as a walk on my freshman year of college and ran good enough times (14:19, 30:22) by my senior year to think that OT in the marathon would be a reasonable (although not necessarily attainable) goal to shoot for, and maybe even in the 5000 (this was back in the 90s, the world of sub 14's was a lot smaller) given that I was still developing as a relatively new runner.

But life got in the way and I didn't really pursue running beyond my first year after college despite showing some improvement that year (taking 3000m time down from 8:32 to 8:20).

On the one hand, I really don't regret not moving to a more running friendly place and seeing what my potential was - I kind of already know my best case upside was OT in the marathon, with an outside, but pretty damn unlikely, shot at an OT in the 5000 or 10,000. I certainly wasn't making any national teams and I wasn't ever going to earn more than a couple of grand a year in prize money.

No, I don't regret it from a running perspective at all. But, as a 45 year old entrenched in a career that provides pretty good financial security but only marginal joy, I will say that there is absolutely no rush to get here as long as you have a plan in place to get here eventually should that be your desire.

Taking time off to chase your dreams is worthwhile, but don't completely forfeit your future. Think about what kind of employment you will be suited for if you take 3 or 4 years working part time at a running store or waiting tables while you chase your dreams. Will you be able to get your career on track at that point? If you want to go to law school or grad school in the future and are comfortable that you can get in, or if you have connections that can get you into an entry level professional position in the future, that is one thing. But if you are going to be putting together a resume at age 28 or 29, and you have a degree in history and then several years of intermittent, inapplicable work experience, that is another. There is nothing wrong with waiting tables (my dad did it for years), but you need to factor the challenge of getting into the professional world (if that is the end goal) into the calculation when you do that math today.

Thinkster wrote:

Just an FYI, 20th at Peachtree last year was 31:54 and 30th was 33:18. I know conditions can be brutal but still that's a long way from sub-elite. You could be a lot higher up in some major races if you're dipping under 30:00.

Life Direction wrote:

What is it like being middle of the pack for the Oly Trials or top 20-30 at a major race (Falmouth or Peach Tree for instance)?

Okay, so Peach Tree 20-30 was a bad example... I can do that now. Next time I throw around examples I'll have to look up the results first!

I'm 27 so definitely getting to the older range where this might make any sense at all. That said I came to running late (post college) and as such still have several more years of development in my legs if all goes well.

As for medical care, I'm very fortunate to live in Massachusetts were we have pretty good medical care through Mass Health. My insurance isn't necessarily great but I'm at least covered for the basics if I need serious care. As for the rest of my support system, I have a supportive family, girlfriend and employer so that should help things a bit.

So you have a supportive family, health coverage and a job - why exactly would you not see how good you could get given that context? What exactly is the tradeoff that you are worried about here?