QOTD: “Zero. Zero bit of regret..." - Andrew Wheating on retirement

macdaddy wrote:

agip wrote:

I'll only care about the professional runners who I think would be runners even if they weren't elite. Who love the sport for what it is and not just for what they can get out of it. Jenny Simpson, Meb, Shalane, Kara, Bernard Lagat. These guys would be running every day no matter what.

Guys like Wheating and Ryan Hill and Robby Andrews and Rowbury...I just feel they're in it for the money

Thank you for being the great decider of those who actually enjoy running. I'll take your opinion as fact.

i actually kind of agree with agip on this one. I don't thin they're in it for the money, they just don't know what the heck else they'd do in their life. it's become such a narrow focus they see it as the only path forward

many of you are obsessed or close to it with running and couldn't do without it. you associate yourself as a "runner" and don't know what you'd be if you didn't have it in your life. you usually say you're a runner in conversations where you meet new people etc.... not everyone is liek that.

for me, it's a grind and so much else of life that i love gets sacrificed.

in high school, college and now in my late 30's, every good race I have ever had is when i am most monk-like and dedicated to running. my relationships, interests, work, and even health get sacrificed for the race i'm training for. i usually back off a lot after a big race and live life and just feel so much better.

friends and family will tell me i look like i'm not training for anything anymore too, because i gain some weight and don't look like i am about to die. i get muscles back, i have weekends, i am more fun to be around. life is truly better without running but i still have this irrational itch to compete and train to get faster.

it's crazy

Trolo wrote:

cooptastic wrote:

I suspect he feels that was because he does run (their job) every day for no money. I don't know a single person who does my job for recreation, even at an amateur level.

If you were paid to run, you would almost certainly enjoy it less. This is well-documented in psychological studies. When you are compensated for doing something, it turns into an obligation, and your perception of its intrinsic enjoyability goes down.

Becoming a chef because you like to cook is like becoming a prostitute because you like to f8ck.

jewbacca wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF73K0K4LGk

I've been listening to this on repeat at work since yesterday. It's so soothing.

cooptastic wrote:

Trolo wrote:

[quote]agip wrote:

Would you go to work and do your job every day for no money?

What an odd, judgemental outlook you have.

I suspect he feels that was because he does run (their job) every day for no money. I don't know a single person who does my job for recreation, even at an amateur level.

There is a vast difference between running for fun and running as a professional. I know a lot of people who like gardening. None of them want to spend 8 hours/day doing yard work. And I have no clue what your field is but I have a feeling there are people that consider parts of it entertaining enough to do for fun.

You're welcome wrote:

macdaddy wrote:

Thank you for being the great decider of those who actually enjoy running. I'll take your opinion as fact.

When an athlete says "nope, don't miss that at all" you can safely assume they do not enjoy running that much.

This is said better than anything I can add about wheating.

I'm just not interested in pros who don't love running for itself. Whoever wants to cheer on someone who doesn't love running - be my guest.

As for the other athletes I mentioned - that's my opinion. What can I tell you.

Goodness, a lot of you are so judgmental.

You aren't recognizing is that an athlete's relationship with running can constantly evolve. Not everyone is like a track-obssessed high school junior for their entire lives. Its possible to love running but be burned out. Its possible to love running and want to do other things with your life. Heck, its possible to have a love-hate relationship with running.

I promise you that Wheating could not have ran 3:30 and make the Olympics without loving running, You no one has that much talent, he still had to put in the work for years and make himself hurt constantly - in practice and on race day.

Posters saying he doesn't love running are myopic. You have no idea what his feelings are. He achieved a ton, went through struggles, and now wants to pursue other things. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Besides, he is staying involved/invested in the sport and is giving back by coaching HS athletes. I think that is pretty neat.

There was at least one American Olympian in this still young century who, as far as I could tell from the times I met and talked with him, didn't really seem to like being a serious runner at all. It was something he was exceptionally good at and he almost felt trapped in an obligation to play it out. If we could read minds, we'd probably find elites "running" the full gamut from guys who love every minute of the athletic life to a smaller group of guys who like almost none of it.

Running for him seems as if it was a totally unexpected gift that led to an exciting style of life through 2010. He won major individual and team college championships and dropped his 1500m time by 7 seconds in one race to among the best American times ever (3:30), soon after pr'ing in the 800m. In fact, if he had had the courage or confidence to get closer to the lead, he would probably have broken Lagat's American record that day. He never got comfortable running in traffic--as he could have done by using his arms to clear a path for himself--never got comfortable getting close to the leaders before the kick, and probably never really enjoyed the lifestyle after 2010. That lack of enjoyment has got to be partly attributable to his frequent injuries and inability to get back to that 2010 level. Honestly, though, he had the talent to get close to the world record, but to do so takes a great coach, great training partners, health, and desire, and he didn't have them after 2010.

great post

Good evidence that Rowbury in particular is *not* in it purely for the money is that she’s having a kid this year. That shows a healthy attitude, I think, rather than obsession with either the sport or money.

Westerns vs East Africans

The Andrew Wheating that grows up a sustenance farmer with no other options becomes a world beater.

The Andrew Wheating that grows up in the Western world simply has more and better options (beer, girls, jobs, snowboarding), all of which I agree with.

This isn't a shot at Wheating; this is the reality of a brutal sport and the opportunity cost it creates with anyone in the First World.

-Krispy

krispy kremlin._._._. wrote:

Westerns vs East Africans

The Andrew Wheating that grows up a sustenance farmer with no other options becomes a world beater.

The Andrew Wheating that grows up in the Western world simply has more and better options (beer, girls, jobs, snowboarding), all of which I agree with.

This isn't a shot at Wheating; this is the reality of a brutal sport and the opportunity cost it creates with anyone in the First World.

-Krispy

East Africans are literally only doing it for the money. Unfortunately agip can't consider them runners.

Looks like Wheating's transition to retirement may be a little bumpy:

https://youtu.be/As0aQ2_0-GQ

Cute dog. Life has ups and downs, but your dog will always be there for you.

Snowboarding's overrated, running more fulfilling. BTW people, Gebrlassie has own personal track. He was in it for the love, not the money.