Janitor in my building was a 3:44 1500m and 13:51 5000m runner. He's currently 31 years old.

62:51 half marathon shows he has a greater potential in longer races. He can probably run with the best US marathoners under the right circumstances. But didn't he tell you his name? It should be easy to verify his times using Goggle.

I know a guy who ran almost the same times (13:50/ 3:44) and 1:47 for 800m ! He is 25 now and runs a car dealership garage! Life happens guys!

Absolutely not a waste of talent, just bumps in life. And at 31 he could completely come back and run even faster. Still plenty of years left.

The worst place to be stuck in sports is just below elite. If you suck, you quit early and no big deal. If you are extremely good, you make great money and live the life. If you are right on the threshold of exceptional, but can barely earn enough to eat, too often you keep the dream alive far longer than you should. Imagine being 30 years old and still stuck in AAA baseball, or finally breaking 29 in a road 10k, or scoring a couple top tens on the Korn Ferry tour. Yeah, that's awesome and maybe you can make a couple bucks. But at that point in your career, you'll never be elite and your sport of choice is best compartmentalized as a hobby as you get a real job.

Get this guy to marry your sister for citizenship and get him on a training plan. We need all the help we can get at the marathon distance.

One of my running friends (who happens to be of E. African descent) introduced me to a guy (that he had just met afaik) who he casually mentioned was a "pretty good runner", this was at a school event for our kids or something. Later told me turns out the guy was a former Ethiopian Olympian!

DC area so I guess the guy had relocated here or something. This was right before the pandemic.

Ran similar times then this guy I believe it. I called it a career once I had kids. It probably would have ended me anyway being that I developed a heart condition and all. I am late 30's and a lot of guys try and chase a dream that is long gone after the college door shuts. Then by the time you are in your 40's you realize man I could gave put that energy toward my career and been well over 6 and close to 7 figures a year income wise. As a runner I worked minimum wage jobs wondered how I was getting my next meal sure It was fun. Today I make solid income have had years close to $500k and am glade I hung the shoes up when I did. This guy is being responsible he is trying to start a life for his family and you gotta start someplace.

Cash. Get to know him as a person and be sure to tip generously on holidays. Give him a fat tip if you care so much about his future.

Hooma wrote:

No. He's probably lying/exaggerating his times, and he's too old to get back to it and do well. Do you know how many 13:51 guys there are in the US alone? You've never even heard of most of them. He has 4 children and responsibilities.

Why do Americans have the mindset of just giving up after college if they can't be pro's? You can work full time and still find an hour or two a day to train and still be pretty good and enjoy it. I was sub elite, never good enough to make a living from it but worked full time and competed until 31 because I enjoyed it. Injury resulted in a 10 year break from competition although I never stopped running completely. Now I'm 41 and competing again as a vet because I love running. I have two young children but can find the time to train at least once a day. It's not that hard if you want to do it. Ask the guy to go for a run. Sometimes people need a nudge to remind them how much they love to run and get them back into it again.

It's very easy to check times what with the internets and all. A few years ago I had some chubby guy tell me he ran a 2:30 marathon. I said "cool" but what I was really thinking was BS. Got his name, went home, and looked him up. Sure enough he'd run 2:30 something a couple years back in a local marathon. Unless they ran back in the 70s there is usually info out there. I can still find times I ran almost 25 years ago.

NJ NY wrote:

There are thousands of Americans in their 20s and 30s who ran those times. My son is 7th man on his college team and he ran similar times. He will graduate in a year and probably give up running at age 23. I hope you don't track him down.

Sorry but not sure what point you are attempting to make?

At some point everyone calls it quits and has to move on, I don't find this shocking. There are just only so many runners that are willing to "live the dream" aka put real life on hold while they race for road race prize money, or travel to European meets, and lower level meets in the US.

Around the age of 30 you have to look up and realize all your contemporaries are 6-8 years into their careers, buying a house, probably married and have at least 1 kid. You are still getting ready for track meets like you have been since middle school.

It is called perspective. Former D3 guys and hobby joggers hear about 13:5x and think the guy needs to keep running. There are some D1 teams that had 8 and 9 guys run that fast this season.

7th man? What team is he on?

It is in a primarily east coast conference.

Its the same with musicians and many other things. I have a couple of friends who are really pretty good musicians playing around locally. They just arent elite enough to make a good living so all work full time jobs. Ah life at the sub elite level! Back to work for me.

His half is the most impressive - particularly as it is an older PR.

His best track times are unlikely to be surpassed - but he could still probably put up a 2:15 marathon if he trained.

….Which I guess he won’t. 4 kids is not a barrier - it’s an obstacle. But he seems to have lost the drive.

He’s not likely to join you for a run if he’s been away from the sport.

He's being an adult and a good parent. That's more important than times he ran 5-10 years ago. Maybe his 4 kids will be faster than he ever was.

sak9 wrote:

No clue, but as someone else said, 3:44 and 13:51 aren't numbers you just pull out of your behind. 3:44 isn't surprising for someone in the low 13:50's.

And they aren't super numbers.

A guy with responsibility, moving to another country, isn't going to provide for his family staying in track.

Good for him that he has his priorities right