Where To Run If You Are Not Eligible For College Sports?

Hi, I just recently got into track and field but I just found out today that I won’t be able to run for my college team due to me being enrolled in college for longer than 5 years. My question is where can I run? I’m 23 years old and will be 24 in January. I enjoy training but I don’t want to train for nothing. The clubs I see in my area are for youth and for people older than 35. I also see a crap load of marathons but nothing for the sprinters. Are there any non-professionals my age participating in track and field?

Any open meet. Check usatf.org, directathletics.com to search for meets. U can also run in most collegiate meets or any open meet.

Where are you located?

Thanks for the info. According to directathletics there are 2 or 3 meets I can go to next year. I don’t know if more meets are going to be announced on the site as the track season draws closer. I am located in Virginia, Stikki.

Yea there will be. Soon you will have more than enough to choose. from. Also check any university websites close to you for more meets

For NCAA institutions using directathletics, this is officially cross country season, and that is what they’re concentrating on right now. Once the jogging crap ends in November, they will start putting up the real track meets, indoors first, but a lot of this doesn’t start until December. Look at the universities in your area and see what they did last year.

^^^^ jogging? Sometimes they jump over sticks in the woods

Hi Chris,

If you happen to train in a facility where there is a college team and you’re friendly with the coaching staff, what often happens around here is that university coaches will add unattached athletes to their roster and enter them in low key meets (twilights or last chance meets) on DirectAthletics. Of course, this means you need to be friends with someone, but I’ve seen it happen many times.

Often at college oriented twilight meets the entry standards for unattached athletes are onerous (20.8 minimum for the 200, for example) so this could be an option…a bit pie in the sky, but you never know.

Just emailing the coaches usually gets u in. All they want is money anyways