Posted May 12th, 2016 by David Laney

Dear collegiate runners,

Your days of lounging in the pole vault pit  after running with your friends are numbered.  The team trips, pasta dinners, Sunday morning long runs, and cross country camps eventually come to an end.  Some of you are looking forward to a chapter of life that puts less emphasis on competition and allows more freedom.  Some of you are interested in continuing competitive running but don’t know what to expect.  For years, racing schedule and entries, training plan, and travel has been organized and planned for you. Hotels have been covered, entries paid for, and dinner picked up by athletic department.  You are likely in the midst of your track season.  In the core of the racing season it’s often hard to see past the weekend’s twilight meet, but maybe in the back of your mind you’re wondering where your running is going after college.  I’ve had great coaches and mentors, but In my final months of collegiate running I had real questions.  

-What races and distances should I do now?

-Am I good enough to keep running competitively?

-How will I find training partners?

Often runners  ask, Can I get sponsored?  How do I get gear?   When ultimately the big questions are: What got you started running? Why do you enjoy it? What do you enjoy most and enjoy least? Is there still self discovery to be had?  Answering these questions for yourself will help you make sound decisions about your future in the sport. No matter the gear, shoes or glory a sponsor gives you, its nothing compared to the enjoyment of training free and unencumbered with friends.

The above are questions to sit and think about. Talk to a teammate or coach and spend some time figuring out what you want to do next.  Post collegiate running is really fun, but nobody is going to hold your hand and figure it out for you unless you are really really really fast.  Just because you don’t have sponsor or team support doesn’t mean you can’t do a great job figuring out your running.  Below I break down some significant misconceptions about the post collegiate scene, then follow up with some ideas on how to make this transition easier so you can have fun on the roads, track, or trails.

Misconceptions about post collegiate running

1) A perception exists that the shoe contract makes the runner.  Just because you aren’t getting free shoes doesn’t mean you are not good enough to race at a high level.  Free shoes help, but let’s just throw it back to middle school math to see exactly how much that support helps.  

Say you average 85 miles per week 48 weeks of the year and change your shoes every 500 miles. These numbers mean you need 8.1 pairs of shoes a year. I’ve found local running shops always have great deals on last seasons models and colors. It’s pretty easy to find shoes at 30% discount if you’re not too picky.   Say your average discounted shoe is $80.  $80 dollars X 8.16 pairs/year = $652.8 on shoes per year.  Now, sure, that is a lot of money, but not unreasonable if over the course of the year.  I think you would find a lot of self “pro”claimed runners don’t get any more support than this regardless of how many times they hashtag their sponsor’s brand on social media channels. Don’t make the cost of shoes an excuse to stop training and racing.  Don’t let getting a sponsor become the goal for continuing running. If fame, fortune, or free shoes are your reasons for running, you will be disappointed.

2) A marathon is too far.  Twenty-six miles is a long way, but it isn’t too far.  Doing a half marathon to get an... read the rest >