Sam announced on his Instagram that he will be joining the army this month - peachtree was his final race as a pro.
Editor's update: Here is our story on Chelanga's retirement from running:
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2018/07/sam-chelanga-retired-running-age-33-enlist-u-s-army/
Sam Chelanga retires
Pro News/Info/Results
Distance
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Why would you post this without a link to anything?
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doubtful wrote:
Why would you post this without a link to anything?
+1.
Here's the link.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk2pQ9YFO8C/?taken-by=samchelanga -
Don't know him well but he seems like a good guy. Everybody moves on at some point. Congrats Sam!
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Not sure why he would retire now, he would have a good shot at making the US olympic marathon team in a few years.
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here's the link wrote:
doubtful wrote:
Why would you post this without a link to anything?
+1.
Here's the link.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk2pQ9YFO8C/?taken-by=samchelanga
Just an overall great guy. Some good sessions with him- both on the track and life discussions. I was very surprised to see Nike had not renewed his contract. Good on him...best wishes to you, Sam! -
Wow! Quite a surprise. A real talent. Godspeed.
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Best of luck to him! Because professional running pays so little relative to 'big league sports,' it makes sense to treat it like a normal job and not stay till the bitter end -- whereas even the worst player in the MLB making the league minimum is making a lot more than a first year corporate lawyer or something like that. For a not-quite-A-lister like Sam, it makes sense to finally pick a career (or at least a good stepping stone to one).
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Why would Sam quit professional running to suddenly join the army? Doesn’t make much sense to me as he is one of the top US runners and has a good chance at Olympic qualification in 2020.
Is he a full US citizen? I know he lost his sponsorship with Nike, could this be something to make money as he might not have enough?
Just seems odd that someone would want to leave pro running to join the military. -
ScottEvil wrote:
Best of luck to him! Because professional running pays so little relative to 'big league sports,' it makes sense to treat it like a normal job and not stay till the bitter end -- whereas even the worst player in the MLB making the league minimum is making a lot more than a first year corporate lawyer or something like that. For a not-quite-A-lister like Sam, it makes sense to finally pick a career (or at least a good stepping stone to one).
If Sam is not an A-lister then who is? I would argue that he is currently one of the top 5 US distance runners.
Here are his PR's:
3000: 7:45
5000: 13:04
10000: 27:08
Half: 1:00:37 -
I remember when he ran that 27:08. His pro career seemed to have so much upside available and once he got going he put in decent performances. I agree that he was a real contender for the 2020 team.
I ran some of the trails he and Josh used to supposedly do their runs on and I was surprised with how technical they were in spots. -
And the half is from this year!
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Whyhow? wrote:
Why would Sam quit professional running to suddenly join the army? Doesn’t make much sense to me as he is one of the top US runners and has a good chance at Olympic qualification in 2020.
Is he a full US citizen? I know he lost his sponsorship with Nike, could this be something to make money as he might not have enough?
Just seems odd that someone would want to leave pro running to join the military.
He's 33 and he's not suddenly joining the army, he joined it years ago -
I think Sam is near the age cutoff to join the Army so this may have had something to do with the timing.
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Whyhow? wrote:
Why would Sam quit professional running to suddenly join the army?
Probably for the steady income and retirement benefits.
However it seems he could run on the Army team if he wanted to. -
another runner wrote:
If Sam is not an A-lister then who is? I would argue that he is currently one of the top 5 US distance runners.
Here are his PR's:
3000: 7:45
5000: 13:04
10000: 27:08
Half: 1:00:37
top 5 in what right now? maybe the half marathon, which isn't even a championship event.
and you can't say "currently" and then list his ancient PBs. he hasn't touched any of those 3k-10k marks in years. -
This is quite surprising as he was enjoying a bit of a resurgence. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
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I've heard The Illuminati had something to do with it.
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he's one of the good ones - great to have him to watch and cheer for these many years.
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The Army pays more than running.
Why not get paid a good salary to sit on your butt rather than run your tail off?
The good old welfare scheme called the Army never fails.
