How to get out of the 4x8 (already had a talk with coach)

Just walk around the track when you get the baton. Coach won't enter you in any race ever again, so you will get out of the whole season.

Plus, think about how much the other guys on the relay will appreciate that you made their efforts worthless.

aye how do you break 2:10

Brava wrote:

Just walk around the track when you get the baton. Coach won't enter you in any race ever again, so you will get out of the whole season.

Plus, think about how much the other guys on the relay will appreciate that you made their efforts worthless.

I knew I was going to get a response like this.

I have talked to all of the other kids on the team. None of them want to do it. All of us want to run our respective open events because our team is stupid and only goes to 2 invitationals a year. Nobody wants to waste their time with the 4x8. Otherwise, I see your point, but if we do run it we were all going to jog like 2:40 anyways.

P.S. track is an individual sport. My effort does not affect other people's splits.

life isnt always fair and its not only about you. Just run the relay and be nice about it. Give it your all and stop sulking. Your coach knows you dont like it and will respect you more for still doing your part with full effort. That would be adult behavior

Yuhhhh wrote:

aye how do you break 2:10

Run two consecutive laps without stopping averaging within a minute and 5 seconds per lap

You are being selfish. Relays are fun for average runners. This isn’t costing you a future scholarship.

Pissed off 800/1600 dude wrote:

I was entered in the open 800 this Saturday (large invitational, good place to run fast) when two kids on the 4x8 scratched and said they weren't going to the meet. Naturally, my coach decides not to just drop the 4x8 team but instead decides to put me and another kid on (both of us were looking to run PRs in our respective main events, this is one of the only opportunities we have all season to run fast). We both talked to him, saying we weren't going to try and that there was no point in running it, and he decided to be a hardass and didn't budge. How do I get out of this?

This isn't a troll

-your token high school 2:06/4:40 guy

1) You can run the 4x800 and still run a PR in the open 800.

2) Coach gets to decide who runs what and when. Period.

3) NO high school kid, no matter how good should ever tell his coach that they aren't going to try. If I were your coach and you told me that, you wouldn't be running in the meet at all in any event. So, your coach wasn't a hard ass at all. Kind of a wimp if you ask me.

4) You have the wrong attitude here.

I don't owe the coach or the team anything. The coach is an idiot: he has the top runners run 20mpw, 4 days of which are 200/400/800 repeats. I got myself into 2:06/4:40. Not him. ME. I don't owe him anything. Just because I happen to go to the school he coaches at doesn't make me his property. I got myself into that shape by grinding on my own all year, so why should he get to choose what I get put in?

Why shouldn't I tell him my intentions? Our team has no chance of state qualifying in the 4x8; he knows it, and nobody wants to run it. It's not being disrespectful, it's the truth: I'm not going to go all out in my split just so my team can crawl to an 8:55. I hate he mindset of "coach is always right, listen to him, team first." It's just plain wrong.

P.S. You CAN PR after the 4x8 but you know full well it makes it less likely, even if you run a 2:35 or something. It would be a decent warm up if it wasn't 2 hours beforehand. However, just because you PRed doesn't mean you ran to your fullest potential. A listed 2:04 on milesplit looks better than a 2:06 no matter how you slice it, and recruiters will have no clue that I did the 4x8 beforehand.

I know I'm not fast. But the sport matters to me and I worked my a$$ of to get where I am, and I'm not going to be denied my best race because of an idiot coach.

Are you assuming your coach's gender?

theJeff wrote:

Are you assuming your coach's gender?

You bet I am. Idgaf about his liberal a$$, I just want ONE completely fresh race this season that reflects my work. No more of this tripling in a dual meet BS that's been going on.

Flagpole is 100% correct. You are wrong. Fix your attitude.

Are you the first leg? If so, run all out and don't hand over the baton until you cross the "finish" line. You can count that as an 800 PR since you will be starting from a standing start and will know exactly where the 800m mark is.

If you're not the first leg, treat it as a warmup and run 2:25.

Are you running both events, the open and relay?

1) You can ask a coach if you can do certain things, but to tell him you aren't going to try is flat out not right. Doesn't matter if he's a bad coach or not. He's the coach. He gets to decide what you run. Your attitude is horrible. Just because you say your opinion on the matter is "the truth", that doesn't mean it isn't disrespectful.

2) Who are you thinking will recruit you with a 2:04? 2:04 for a boy is not going to get you recruited anywhere. That isn't even good DIII territory. Non-scholarship D1 teams MIGHT let you run for them, a D2 team might let you walk on, and a lot of DIII teams will be ok with you joining the team, but no one will actively recruit you with that kind of time except perhaps a very poor DIII team, and only after you contact them first, and of course they don't give money. Milesplit stops at page 20 (1000 runners) for the top 800 times in 2017, and the 1000th runner had a 1:56.92 time. You need to be realistic here.

3) I never said the coach is right. I said you have to do what he says.

Pissed off 800/1600 dude wrote:

I was entered in the open 800 this Saturday (large invitational, good place to run fast) when two kids on the 4x8 scratched and said they weren't going to the meet. Naturally, my coach decides not to just drop the 4x8 team but instead decides to put me and another kid on (both of us were looking to run PRs in our respective main events, this is one of the only opportunities we have all season to run fast). We both talked to him, saying we weren't going to try and that there was no point in running it, and he decided to be a hardass and didn't budge. How do I get out of this?

This isn't a troll

-your token high school 2:06/4:40 guy

Here's what you do.

Quit the team

Train on your own

Enter open meets. A.A.U. meets and such.

Then come back and blame someone else when you can't break 2:12.

Flagpole, what gives a randomass high school coach god status? WHY is it wrong to not brown nose him and do his every command? If he's wrong, he's wrong, and I'm not going to let it stand

I already said I was slow. But I want to put up some decent times my freshman year (this year) so that I may get put on the outskirts of some coaches' radars, even low level ones. I feel like I have a shot with my 4:40 and 2:06 thus far (I changed my times slightly to remain anonymous).

The reason I'm being so obstinate about this is that IT'S AN IVITATIONAL, not the state championships where the point is to win as many points for your team as you can (and it's not like we're in the ballpark with ~8:55). If this were the case, I'd agree and say I'm being a jerk. But this is one of our two invitationals where the point is to RUN FAST IN OPEN RACES.

This is a tough one. I ran my PR because my coach believed in me, a 12s breakthrough in lower state. I had no idea I would be able to run in the meet, much less set a massive PR.

I am trying to put myself in your position, which seems opposite from your coach. You must be true to yourself. This does not always mean opposing those who do things differently. The coach is the leader, you are the team member.

Our perspective is different, yours is the here and now, mine is what I have learned in 65+ years.

I would run and do my best, Always. Your coach is not impressed with your time despite how much work you did to get there. If you were sub 2 then maybe things would be different but that is not on the current table.

Do your best. All the time. Every time. Even if it is not the fastest, it can be your best. Give it your all and believe in yourself.

If so your time will come.

If you only run 2:06 then you don't need a big invitational to PR. I imagine most meets you'll go to will be won faster than that.

Been there, done that. I raced two races in XC before quitting to do just what you suggested... problem was, there were no races to do this. I have a clue when it comes to training (my training is a blend of canova/lydiard) whereas the high school coach played soccer in college and coaches track because he ran a low 5 mile at some point off little training, so he thinks he's an expert. Talented, he probably was, but he doesn't have the first clue about running. Honestly, he's a nice guy but I'm getting frustrated that his crap is affecting my good training.

I've already stated my PRs, and I'm just a freshman so I will get better. And I got there on my own. So STFU.

Look, if you guys disagree with me, whatever. But I asked for some ideas on how to get out of it, not to get lectured by some 20 minute 5kers hiding behind a computer screen on how selfish I am. Go back to running 100mpw so you can break 6 in the mile this year.