Considering running in D3

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  • OnTheFence
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 12:01am CDT
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    Some background for context: I started running my freshman year of high school in distance track and came to really like it, so I also joined cross country starting that summer. I did wrestling my sophomore and junior year and practiced over the summer in between along with XC. Junior year I came to hate it and quit after finishing. I’m currently a senior and was disappointed with my XC season which spurred me to focus on running (had never ran in winter other than cutting weight runs once a week) and be as best at track as possible.

    I was recently accepted to UC Santa Cruz, which was one of my main options overall and not just for being a D3 school. Unfortunately my aid does not cover enough for me to not need at least a part-time job while at school. I know it’s possible to make college classes/sports/part-time job work, but I’m not sure if I even want to.

    I liked running enough to stick with XC and track (in progress) through my senior year but did get sidetracked a bit with wrestling which I eventually hated because after the “honeymoon” of a new sport I felt that my work didn’t pay off well and practice began feeling like a chore. I’m not sure if my desire to run in college is just the fumes of my disappointment from XC and if the combination of three commitments will cause a similar falling out to wrestling. I still like running but I honestly do feel a bit mentally taxed from all the competition, which again I’m not sure if it is just general senioritis setting in and can be fixed with the typical postseason 2 week break.

    So my questions are: Should I run in D3 college? If you ran in college and had a job, how was your experience running and time wise? D3 at the same university and part-time would be a lucky coincidence and more relatable but any input helps.
  • Flagpole
    registered
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 12:21am CDT
    re: OnTheFence
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    You left out the most important piece of information...what are your PRs?

    If you have a job and run, you will have to sacrifice running performance or academic performance. Just not enough hours in the day to do all those things properly.

    Your PRs will allow me to answer more fully.
  • D3Run&work
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 1:23am CDT
    re: OnTheFence
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    It sounds like you’re burnt out and not willing to put the work in to be a runner. I was in a similar situation as you but the burn out happened my 1st year of college competition. I ran D3 XC/Track and worked 15-20 hours per week at an academically rigorous liberal arts school. I almost quit freshman year because all the commitments left little time for college leisure. Plus, I was getting crushed by All Americans nearly every race so it dulled some of the fun of training and racing. A talk with my older brother convinced me to ride the year out and see what happens. His advice was, “You probably won’t have another chance to train and compete like you do now. You don’t want to look back at your college years and say I wished I would have...” So I competed the rest of the year, got adjusted to college life, improved every year, and made all conference the last three years.

    Another piece of advice is to find an easy job on campus or off campus that doesn’t take a lot of you if you plan to compete. When you fill out a campus work study experience form, write down you did easy, white collar jobs. I got stuck doing campus maintenance work my first year because all of my high school jobs involved heavy physical labor since I grew up in a rural, blue collar area while some of my other friends worked in the library and were paid to study because their jobs were so easy.
  • doesn't matter
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 4:11am CDT
    re: Flagpole
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    Flagpole wrote:

    You left out the most important piece of information...what are your PRs?

    If you have a job and run, you will have to sacrifice running performance or academic performance. Just not enough hours in the day to do all those things properly.

    Your PRs will allow me to answer more fully.


    Doesn't matter what his PRs are, they won't be anything remarkable. It's D3 anyway, and he'll be one of the guys on the team who is just there.

    OP, you're one of the most unfocused people anyone could imagine. Run D3 if you are in the mood when you get to campus.
  • ScottEvil
    registered
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 7:43am CDT
    re: doesn't matter
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    I'm surprised responses are so unkind! OP seems fine to me, just a HSer.

    I ran DIII in a really leisurely way, traveled for meets only sparingly, never hit more than 40 MPW . Most coaches probably aren't cool with that, but mine were. We never talked about it explicitly, I just wasn't that good so I didn't get invited to the competitive meets, which was good, because I didn't want to go.

    If you can have an arrangement like that with your coach(es), D III is a good option. If they require a lot of commitment, you should probably just run with a club team and focus on your academics and work.

    Side note 1) Academics > work, if possible -- in terms of minimizing lifetime stress about money, much better to be an A student with a STEM degree than a B student with a lit degree, and if that means you work 5 hours a week instead of 10, it'll pay off. Of course do what you need to survive...

    2) D III athletes and coaches often take themselves too seriously IMO. For 99.9% of us running is a hobby and if you prefer to do it at 30 MPW vs 50, there's no moral framework that could make one better than the other.
  • OnTheFence
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 8:49am CDT
    re: D3Run&work
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    I did run a lot over the winter coming into track so I know I am capable of the work but I do see what you mean about not wanting to. I'm guessing that trying out at least one year would be best so I can get a first-hand taste and make my decision to quit from there? I am going to look for a job off campus, I don't know if schools operated differently before but eligibility for work-study jobs are FAFSA based, and I don't qualify.
  • OnTheFence
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 8:54am CDT
    re: doesn't matter
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    You're right, they're not. Unfocused is a good word for it, I do have a bad habit of overthinking and projecting too far ahead. A rambling post like this in March is a perfect example, but what I'm taking from you is that I should just push it out of my mind for now and decide if I'm in the mood come end of season.
  • OnTheFence
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 9:04am CDT
    re: ScottEvil
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    Sounds good. My school's men's programs are fairly new and they have done well in their regionals so I'm not sure if they'd be that laidback but I can schedule a tour with the coach if I want to find out. 1) For sure, I was leaning towards part-time regardless of joining or not but if I end up not and money is that tight, I will have to do what I need. 2) Lol that may be true for that team but again I'd have to visit with them.
  • thedub
    registered
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 9:09am CDT
    re: OnTheFence
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    I am a D3 runner, taking 15 hours, and working 20-30 hours a week. I really enjoy having a job, it keeps me busy during the day.

    I was in the same position as you. After high school, I was unsure if I wanted to run in college, but I decided I would try out D3 for 1 year, and see what happens. Now I'm a sophomore and still running.

    I would wager that most of the junior/seniors on your team are working 15-30 hours a week as well.

    So yes, I encourage you to find a job, take a full class load, and run! It will be pretty tough initially, and will take some adjustment, but it's worthwhile!
  • Justwandering
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 9:11am CDT
    re: ScottEvil
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    Just out of curiosity, did you have athletic success during your careering? Meaning, did you develop and get faster from your freshman to senior year?
  • Real advice
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 9:37am CDT
    re: OnTheFence
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    I was a good D3 runner in New England (national qualifier, not AA).

    I would give all that up in a heartbeat to party at UC Santa Cruz. You are being given an unbelievable opportunity here son, don’t waste it running. Your 34 year old self wont forgive you if you do.
  • tenkrunner
    registered
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 12:32pm CDT
    re: Real advice
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    I ran D3...in a normal week I run 90-100 miles, take a full class load, work 8-10 hours and host 4 hours of radio shows.

    You can do it, just have to stay organized and focused.
  • FormerTree
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 1:11pm CDT
    re: tenkrunner
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    How about trying it for 1 season? Hell, even try it for a month. If you don't enjoy it, or the combination of work/academics/athletics are too much, just walk away. The good news about D3 is that you aren't taking away somebody else's scholarship slot. Go into it like you're making a commitment, but don't feel bad if you realize it just isn't for you. Good luck.
  • Join for the social aspect
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 2:55pm CDT
    re: OnTheFence
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    I was a decent baseball player in HS, and made the D3 baseball team at the college I attended. I loved playing baseball still, but I hated the baseball "culture" at the school I was at. I also realized that it would be probably my Junior or Senior year before I could even step on the field (many players were simply better than me).

    Because of this, my sophomore year, I didn't go out for baseball, and joined the XC and Track team. I took a full credit load, had a job, and was able to run. I couldn't fully dedicate myself to any one thing, but it was a great college experience. Runners, in my experience at least, are nicer people. They certainly are nicer than baseball players.

    Join the team. Meet lots of nice people. Run as much as you can, study hard, and work as little as possible.
  • Surprise!
    registered
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 3:46pm CDT
    re: OnTheFence
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    I ran D3 and worked 20-30 hours a week. In retrospect, there would've been plenty of time for everything if I didn't play tons of video games and basketball.
  • exd3runner
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 3:58pm CDT
    re: Surprise!
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    I went to a small D3 school in SoCal and we ran against UCSC pretty frequently. That being said it's definitely manageable to run d3 and work 15-20 hours a week. I spent most of my time injured and could rarely get through an entire season uninjured. But when I was able to train I found that I was able to get into pretty decent shape, I never PR'd from High School but I got close to my personal best times a couple times in cross. It's all about managing your time. My school had practice at 6am everyday so my schedule would be practice 6am-8am, class 10am-4pm, and work 4-9pm. It wasn't easy by any means but if you're willing to put in the effort you can make it work. A bonus is that employers love to see it on your resume.
  • No Way!
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 5:06pm CDT
    re: OnTheFence
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    I did not read your post nor the rest of the thread. I don't need any information to tell you: DO NOT DO IT. It is a waste of time. No good will come of it.
  • Phenom Man
    registered
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 5:09pm CDT
    re: exd3runner
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    If you get to know the right people, you can get a pretty easy campus job. If you only need 15-20 hours of work a week, I think it's completely manageable. It's probably better actually because staying busy in college keeps you out of your dorm room, which can quickly lead to over-relaxing and wasting time. It's much better to man a desk somewhere and do minimal work while you complete some actual assignments on the side.
  • another former D3 runner
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 9:15pm CDT
    re: ScottEvil
    Forum Index
    ScottEvil wrote:

    I'm surprised responses are so unkind! OP seems fine to me, just a HSer.

    I ran DIII in a really leisurely way, traveled for meets only sparingly, never hit more than 40 MPW . Most coaches probably aren't cool with that, but mine were. We never talked about it explicitly, I just wasn't that good so I didn't get invited to the competitive meets, which was good, because I didn't want to go.

    If you can have an arrangement like that with your coach(es), D III is a good option. If they require a lot of commitment, you should probably just run with a club team and focus on your academics and work.

    Side note 1) Academics > work, if possible -- in terms of minimizing lifetime stress about money, much better to be an A student with a STEM degree than a B student with a lit degree, and if that means you work 5 hours a week instead of 10, it'll pay off. Of course do what you need to survive...

    2) D III athletes and coaches often take themselves too seriously IMO. For 99.9% of us running is a hobby and if you prefer to do it at 30 MPW vs 50, there's no moral framework that could make one better than the other.


    I must have been one of those runners that took themselves too seriously, because I enjoyed making guys like you quit after the first weekend 15 miler.

    I ran XC and track all four years, worked part-time during the school year, and graduated with a STEM degree. And drank a lot of beer.

    To the OP -- give XC a try if you like to run and race. If you decide it's not for you, then at least you'll know. But you might find it to be some of the happiest time you spend in college, as I did.
  • Flagpole
    registered
    2 years ago 03/21/2018 9:20pm CDT
    re: doesn't matter
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    doesn't matter wrote:

    Flagpole wrote:

    You left out the most important piece of information...what are your PRs?

    If you have a job and run, you will have to sacrifice running performance or academic performance. Just not enough hours in the day to do all those things properly.

    Your PRs will allow me to answer more fully.


    Doesn't matter what his PRs are, they won't be anything remarkable. It's D3 anyway, and he'll be one of the guys on the team who is just there.

    OP, you're one of the most unfocused people anyone could imagine. Run D3 if you are in the mood when you get to campus.


    I didn't say they had to be remarkable. I would have a different answer for him if he said 9:30 for 3200 vs 13:00.