Anyone run in college, keep running after college into 40's and not run a marathon?

You've yet to run into the "life sucks so I'll focus on training for a marathon so I have something to concentrate on to distract me from the crap in the real world" part of your life yet.

When I started running in the 1970s the philosophy seemed to be that you only ran a marathon if you had a chance to win!

I was not as fast as you but wanted to run the mile/1500. I would probably have done better running the 5K/10K but did not want to sacrifice my muscular build which definitely would have happened.

People always used to ask me "are you going to run a marathon?" Like you I never saw the point. I can see doing 22 mile runs like Lydiard suggested but I did not have a book written by him. I actually thought he was crazy because Runner's World presented him that way. Now I know he was a genius.

I did run 20 miles once with my high school teammates but we ate cookies, crackers, cake, and drank soda pop every five miles. That's how you do your long runs...LOL!

I ran in HS , College and mainly 5ks until I was 31.

I eventually just wanted to see how I would do at the marathon. (I was always the guy trying out new events which led me to the steeple in college).

I didn't do my second until 5 years later. Like any event, I figured I would actually get a little serious about it an try to run well. I've done a total of 10 marathons over the next 10 years. Always taking it seriously, training hard and having goals i.e. not just jogging one. It's kind of fun to see how "good" you can get at an event and too be honest. 5ks & 10ks can get boring when that's all you've done for 20 years.

Still, I'm about ready to "retire" from the event and stick to halfs.

There you go, only one guy on LRC made it to his 40's without running a marathon.

pretty believable because most people here are < 19 years old

asdfsd wrote:

pretty believable because most people here are < 19 years old

You haven't been around here long, have you? The average LRCer is 35-45 post-collegiate white male looking for investment and marriage advice and wondering what race time they can run off of 18 mpw.

I did one when I first started running aged 18 then avoided it for the next 20+ years

No I don't suddenly feel like running one

10 miles is long run. Its double that + a 10km!

A lot of poepl claim to have run a marathon when what they have actually done is a hike the weight of a backpack

I did not make it to 27. So many people think the ultimate feat in running is Boston. I was asked had I done Boston by about 1 in 3 people that heard I was a good runner.

Just do one as a training run. Go to Boston and have a make out sesh in Wellesley, and don't run another.

Karl Hungus wrote:

You've yet to run into the "life sucks so I'll focus on training for a marathon so I have something to concentrate on to distract me from the crap in the real world" part of your life yet.

This.

Also, worrying about what distance(s) you may or may not feel like running ten years from now is a waste of time, even by LRC standards.

OP, the top runner on my college XC team sounds like what you're describing. He was a very solid college runner, won conference senior year (DII). He ran XC and Outdoor all 4 years of high school and XC all 4 years of college. We didn't have a Track Team in college. Kept training after college, although not very much racing. In his 20's he ran one or two half marathons, did well. Never tried a marathon. We're in our early 50's now, he's still running, does the occasional 5k/10k and turns in good times. I remember a couple years ago he did a race I produce, told me he was looking to run 7:30's, and ended up popping like 6:30's. But no marathons and he tells me he has no desire to do one.

I'm 32 and still no desire to run a marathon. Everyday I do whatever level of physical activity sounds fun at the time, which means I run 5 or 6 miles most days, and pole vault with the high school kids I coach about 2x per week. I'm probably in about 17:30 shape, so well off of what I would be if I was "training."

Never ran in HS or College, but entered countless road races. Eventually got down to 31's on the road back in my 20's. In my forties, I picked up swimming (always had cycled) and got into the tri. scene. My road racing background always ensured an age group win as long as I could stay close on the swim and bike. Never have run a marathon, but have run a few half's. When I can, I like to cycle to a race, race, and then ride home. I'll be 62 in June so maybe I should do one.

Nope Nope Nope wrote:

and wondering what race time they can run off of 5 x 18 m.

Fixed it for you.

I'm 33 and haven't run one. I plan to do one though at some point, just because people always ask if I have run a marathon, and then look disappointed when I haven't.

Ran six of the b@stards (fastest of 2:38) when I was in college, none since, except a few times over 26 in practice. In my 40s ran 800/1500 at a decent evel and a 1:18 HM. I am now 60.

Since college I've raced one 10K, a bunch of 5Ks, a few 1500s, and an 800. The 10K was unpleasant and the rest I liked. I never saw the appeal of racing much more than a mile. Especially not at my advanced age, when I just want to be in decent shape and enjoy the feeling of being fast.

d2xccoach wrote:

But no marathons and he tells me he has no desire to do one.

I am not alone! Thank you.

I was wondering if something just changes as people get old and suddenly racing 26.2 miles sounds enjoyable, or if it's a mid life crisis thing. Or, maybe as others said it is some sort of desire to inflict pain on yourself. I get that I won't know how I will feel in 10 years, but, I don't see it happening. Right now I want to be a guy who runs 10k's in my 80's, not marathons.

I ran in high school, didn't run in college, and came back in my 40s. I've never run a marathon and don't really plan to. I've got races from 1 miles to HM on the calendar for this summer. The HM I ran was great. It suggests I have a realistic shot of dipping under 3:00 if I trained. But the training required would eat up my life, it seems like there are a lot of things that can go wrong in a marathon, and the race itself would leaved me wrecked for a month. I'll either run 0 or 1 marathons, and these days I lean towards 0.

Ran in HS, college, post-college through my early 40s and never ran a marathon. I thought about it a couple of times, but dismissed the idea rather quickly. I ran similar times to you in college. For whatever reason, 2 hours is about my mental limit for just about anything - running, hiking, cycling, etc. Obviously, these 3 examples require different levels of energy expenditure, but 2 hours is about as much as I want to do. After 2 hours, it just isn't fun anymore, can't explain it. I've ran a number of 20 milers in 2:10 - 2:20, and have never wanted to do another 6.2 miles. Also, did a couple of longer trail races at altitude - probably more difficult than a marathon, but ... didn't want to do a marathon. Race the distance where you have the most success and enjoyment.

Side note - I saw quite a few people train for 6 - 9 months for a marathon, only to run a crappy time due to weather or whatever. I would rather race 5k - 1/2 marathon 10 times a year and not put all of my training into one race. That's just me.