Probably won't PR or win a race again... what's there to be motivated about?

You wont win if you dont get out and try!

You might be able to get back and continue pr'int at the mile in your late 30s with a 43x pr. But something is going to have to change. If your 5k/3k or 800 are weaker, you can do mile training and prob break those first. Examine your training. How can it improve? Is there a club in your area you could train with to help push you? If you don't see anything, think seriously about a coach. A good coach in your area with proven success not an online coach or JS.

You sound like a good, dedicated dude trapped in the American rat race. Good luck, update us if you are able to succeed. I always love hearing about guys who beat their college/20s prs through grit and smart thoughtful training.

In my late 50s now. Was an average division III runner in college, but running has always meant a lot to me. I started running again recently after a multi-year break (and many injuries before that). When friends would ask me to do road races with them I’d say: “why: I won’t be able to run them at the pace I used to train back in the day.” I finally got talked into doing a half marathon last fall, and even though my pace was 2 minutes per mile slower than my half marathon pr, I found it to be thrilling - for the first time in many years I felt like I was actually running (and testing myself physically in a way that only running, in my experience, can make you feel). I don’t plan on racing often (that race left me slightly injured), but I no longer reject the idea outright.

Thanks! I'm also always on the lookout for threads about guys getting after it post-college or into their 30s but most usually center around longer distances (5k-marathon) or are about guys who were D1 level.

For me the biggest challenge with analyzing my own training is finding a balance between getting too caught up in the minutia and doing whatever "feels" right. I'm realizing how nice it was to have a coach in high school and basically just do whatever he said. Then in college I would just follow the basic structure of a plan: one longer workout and one shorter workout a week, most of these were just copied from a pro on Flotracks's workout Wednesday and modified for my paces. If I look back at old training logs, I'm pretty shocked at how all over the place it was but it kept me progressing until my senior year.

Now, I definitely couldn't get away with it and I've been trying different training methods but probably do need some outside guidance if I really want to attack a PR. Most clubs in my area are more marathon focused or this new kind of social media focused social run club but I do see some regulars at the track getting after it I may end up having a conversation with.

This post puts your feelings more in perspective. If your goal is to run a mile PR, then you should quit running. Not going to happen at 30+ if you trained hard to set the PR when younger. You’ll either need to set new running goals and stop competing against your younger self or move on. No amount of advice will change this simple truth. Whining about it or feeling sorry for yourself won’t change it. It’s something all aging runners have had to come to grips with. Your situation isn’t special.

The initial post was definitely made in a whiny/feeling sorry for myself mood so you're right on that but I definitely wasn't looking to feel "special." I was actually hoping to find some solidarity with other runners in this situation and hear some stories of guys who worked their way through it. Again, I've seen threads like this pop up now and again but usually they tend towards PRing at longer distances. Still it's inspiring to me to hear these kind of stories. Personally, I also don't think I trained that hard/seriously or ran so fast that PRing in my 30s is out of the question but I guess it'll really come down to whether it's worth it. For better or worse, running is still my preferred hobby/fitness activity so until I find something that fits better, I'll probably keep doing it, PRs or not.

re "won't win a race again," have you tried masters? it's age grouped in 5 year chunks. yes, you will lose to 20 year old college kids, but not necessarily people your own age.

re PRs and motivation in general, my personal experience it is diminishing returns to compete with "young you" in the same exact events you did before. if you want to run, my suggestion is change events. shorter, longer, road, trail, marathon, ultra, hurdles, multievent, field event. something different than what you did in HS/college. you then start over with new PRs and are competing with your current self instead of young you.

either that or take up some new sports. same vibe, new challenge, rewards competing against yourself in the now. i also personally felt like running and a team sport balance each other.

Maybe their running careers don't have meaning.

But what else does? If they get into lifting and set a bench press PR, does it have any meaning if it's not an elite mark?

If you get into mountain climbing and bag dozens of summits, does your "climbing career" have meaning if none of those are first ascents, new routes, or FKTs? If you get into painting, is your art meaningless if nobody wants to buy it?

To take this further, the vast majority of jobs are bull$h!t, expendable, or both. If you're not a CEO or senior VP of a big company, does your career have meaning?

Ok, I'm replying to this in particular. I've always been curious about doing multievents. My high school coach would throw me in long and triple jump and I was a decent long jumper, from doing sprints in middle school. He had said if I went to a D3 school and was on the team I should try out the multievents. My quesiton is: how do you get into multis? Particularly as someone removed from college and training on my own? I'm assuming I'll need a coach but I don't think I've ever seen a multi at any of the all-comers or college invites I usually would run unattached at. If anyone has info on doing multis at a very casual level and getting started I'd love to hear it!