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Tag: college

The Most Important Part of Collegiate Running

The Most Important Part of Collegiate Running

Posted by Rue on April 18, 2017 Leave a comment

Looking back on my college running career, I can pinpoint many tangible advantages of playing sports at the collegiate level. It helped pay for my education. I traveled to new places and ran myself into the best shape of my life.

However as I look back on my experience, it was the intangible advantages that collegiate athletics gave me that really enhanced my life. I developed a hard work ethic, built mental toughness, but, most importantly, formed lifelong relationships with mentors and friends.

While some locker rooms, weight rooms and track complexes are nicer and flashier than others, at the Division I level, most universities have roughly the same facilities. The main difference between any two programs in the NCAA that can make or break your college athletic experience is in the relationships with your coaches and teammates. It’s these relationships that will help you reach your full potential.

Read more >>

Categories: Coaches & Team Running, Training & Racing
Tags: college, collegiate running, cross country, relationships, teammates, teams
So You Want to Run in College: Here’s What You Need to Know

So You Want to Run in College: Here’s What You Need to Know

Posted by Rue on March 8, 2017 8 Comments

High schoolers, do you know what you need to know about running in college? What can you do during your high school years to make you more desirable for your college’s team? Any chance you might score a scholarship?

As a former DI runner and now a DI college cross country and track coach, I have watched hundreds of young women go through the NCAA recruiting process, which can be both scary and overwhelming. I have outlined a few tips to help make you a more marketable potential student-athlete (PSA) at the collegiate level! Read more >>

Categories: Coaches & Team Running
Tags: college, collegiate running, cross country, high school, Track and Field
Glory Days: the Role of a Runner’s Past in Her Present Success

Glory Days: the Role of a Runner’s Past in Her Present Success

Barley Posted by Barley on October 19, 2016 3 Comments

College-age Barley sits on a number 1 podiumOnce upon a time I was a college track athlete, a heptathlete specifically. I had a good amount of natural talent for it, I enjoyed it, and I succeeded thanks to my beyond-stubborn streak. Notice I didn’t mention anything about working hard, being 100% dedicated, or making sacrifices for my sport. That’s because if I said those things, it wouldn’t be true.

A decade later, while I gave up the javelin when I graduated, I am still a runner and a successful one at that. I still possess the attributes that led to my collegiate success, but I attribute my post-collegiate successes to other things I didn’t have back then. Dedication. Sacrifice. Knowledge. Perspective. The Little Things. The paths college-me and adult-me took to get to success are intertwined but also distinctly different.

Who would I be now if I had today’s work ethic back then? How much better would I have been in college had I approached running with the same intensity and purpose I do now? Should I regret those naive and carefree years and wonder what if?

Are then and now linked, or are they two separate stories of success?

Read more >>

Categories: Running + Life
Tags: Barley bio, college
Salty Running Does Fantasy NCAA Cross Country!

Salty Running Does Fantasy NCAA Cross Country!

Catnip Posted by Catnip on November 21, 2014 4 Comments

Women’s collegiate cross-country is exciting! Image via Matt Brown for the Big West Conference

Looking for a Friday 5? We have something better today: fantasy cross country!

I consider myself a fan of collegiate running; I enjoy reading about superstars, spectating at meets, and occasionally throwing myself into a collegiate meet. I’m a bona fide runnerd. I’d like to publicly thank whoever coined that term because it fits someone who comes up with a fantasy cross country tournament!

Even though most of them aren’t quite the runnerd I am and some admittedly haven’t been following collegiate cross country at all, I managed to recruit several other Salty Bloggers to participate in my fantasy cross country tournament, where we each are fielding a fantasy team at the NCAA D1 Women’s Cross Country Championship, which takes place Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana.

In the real deal, the Michigan State women are heavily favored to win, but the individual race is wide open. And our fantasy race? It’s anyone’s to win — check out our teams below with some notes on drafting strategy and find out how to come up with your own team!

Read more >>

Categories: Features
Tags: college, cross country
How to Spectate at a Cross Country Meet

How to Spectate at a Cross Country Meet

Catnip Posted by Catnip on October 14, 2014 2 Comments

The official symbol of fall!
The official symbol of fall!

We’re right in the middle of October, which means it’s time for pumpkin spice cross country everything! If you’ve never ventured off the roads, cross-country will wow you. The scenery, the toughness and the team work all make cross country a very special form of running.

And for those of you Salty readers who first began your running career as a member of a cross country team, going back out and being a spectator is a must do! Now’s the time to check out a meet and relive those days!  Already running cross country this fall? Then pass this guide along to your friends and family! And away we go… Read more >>

Categories: Training Basics
Tags: college, cross country, high school, spectating
What Does It Mean to be a Post-Collegiate Runner?

What Does It Mean to be a Post-Collegiate Runner?

Eucalyptus Posted by Eucalyptus on May 29, 2014 7 Comments

During the first weekend of May, I had my final collegiate track meet on Long Island, running one race, the 10,000m. This was my final shot to stand on the podium and my final chance to PR and get some points for the team. I was seeded fifth, and was lucky enough to finish in eighth. I did it. I did everything I wanted to do during my final track season – PR in the 10K and place at conference championships.

On the podium, finally.
On the podium, finally!

Since I didn’t PR during conferences – I did during the home meet back in March – I still felt ready to run afterwards. I didn’t think my career was close to being over, despite having run nearly 100% to train for collegiate competition since the summer of 2011. Read more >>

Categories: Coaches & Team Running, Training Basics
Tags: college, Eucalyptus bio, teams
Remembering Madison Holleran

Remembering Madison Holleran

Eucalyptus Posted by Eucalyptus on January 27, 2014 4 Comments


Madison Holleran, UPenn runner, committed suicide Friday, January 17. (Credit: nj.com) 

I was laying in my bed, browsing through my Instagram feed on a snowy day, when I encountered the story about Madison Holleran. Holleran was a 19-year old freshman on the cross country team at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a star athlete in high school, both playing soccer and  running track. About an hour before she committed suicide by jumping off of a parking garage in Philadelphia, she posted a beautiful picture on Instagram of a sunset over Rittenhouse Square. No one could have predicted what was to come next. Read more >>

Categories: Running and Mental Health
Tags: college, depression, Madison Holleran
Why I STILL Love Collegiate Running

Why I STILL Love Collegiate Running

Ginkgo Posted by Ginkgo on January 24, 2013 1 Comment

I miss my other half, Nina, on day-to-day training runs.

I was running in a downpour a few weeks ago, bundled up in my spandex and sweatshirt, cursing to the wind and grumpy that I couldn’t use my iPod in this type of weather. Suddenly a group of 20-something  youngsters frivolously splashed through puddles in their short shorts and whipped past me down the running trail and my mind flashed back to my time running for Ohio Wesleyan University. I must confess. I got jealous of those kids. From the mile-repeat-hell-runs to the leisurely Sunday “conversational-paced” long runs followed by hours-long team brunches at the dine-in hall, there’s just something about that varsity collegiate athletic atmosphere that can’t be matched.

You might think I’m exaggerating when I say running made college the best four years of my life, but really, it was amazing! Here is my top ten list of reasons I still love collegiate running:

Read more >>

Categories: Coaches & Team Running
Tags: college
Facing the Ghosts of my Collegiate Running Past

Facing the Ghosts of my Collegiate Running Past

Sassafras Posted by Sassafras on August 14, 2012 7 Comments

Running in the State High School Cross Country Championships.
Running in the State High School Cross Country Championships, in the green and gold.

Conversation among runners often veers into the numbers-based territory of times, paces and distances.  I used to hesitate when asked about my 5K personal record, but not for the reason you might think.  You see, in a way, I have two 5K PRs. One of them is from 1999 and is much faster than what I can currently run. For a long time, I struggled with whether or not to share this time, thinking, Doesn’t the fact that I could once run that fast make me seem less of a legit runner now?  And in my most insecure moments, Am I even a real runner anymore? Read more >>

Categories: Coaches & Team Running
Tags: college
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