I was wondering what you guys thought, I am a freshman in college running cross country and track and have been thinking for a while about taking next year off, working until Feb. or March making money, then thru-hiking, I am just worried that I will regret giving up an opportunity at running at a big D1 school, and I am worried that my parents won’t understand, I couldn’t do it without their support, yet I think a thru-hike is what I need to do right now, thanks
clong
i would recommend that you finish what you are doing. the opportunity you have available to you now may not happen again. life is funny that way. meanwhile keep the dream of your thru-hike alive. keep tuned into this web-site and keep hikin’. if you want the thru-hike bad enough…you’ll get it when it’s time…
withawhy
withawhy
I was a college athlete and I know that if you sit out a season, you will lose ground. If it is a dream of yours to get to the NCAAs… to become the best that you can, then wait until after you get the degree, after you live the dream of being a D1 athlete. In many ways, being a D1 athlete is like being a thru-hiker in that you are part of a very special, elite group of people that many people want to be a part of. My parents were very understanding of me doing my thru-hike after college and I feel that if I had tried to do it before I finished school, I wouldn’t have had that support.
Think of it this way… you have 3 more years to prepare for a great adventure. You will have more money, be more mature, and can figure out what it takes to complete something… which is what getting a college degree is mostly about anyways.
windex
on one hand, i would hold onto the dream of hiking till after college… the trail will still be there after you graduate. you may never again have the same doors open to you as you do now…
on the other hand, life is short, nothing is guaranteed…
live for today, no-one knows how long they have to live
I never went to college or was on a sports team, so for myself if that path was available to me… I would jump on it and hike later… i could still go on hikes while in college
enjoy whatever path you choose 
FreightTrain
I would give my right arm to be back in college…this coming from someone that never let college get in the way of my education. Anyway, stay in school, run, but you can still do some great hikes till your grad. Such as the Long Trail or just pick out 200 miles of the AT and do it. That will sufice till you can thru hike.
Eric
I think it depends on if you’re focused on school in the educational sense. I’ve been a serious runner since I was 13, and the beauty of running is that it will always be there if your body is fit for it. If you are in school getting a meaningful degree, then keep going on with school. If you are in school to race, then there are plenty of races outside school–ironmans, Boston Marathon, local 10k’s. It also depends on just how fast you are. If you’re world class and want to make a living running, then stay in college to race, I guess. I went to UW Madison and saw some pretty sorry excuses for college students behind the letter jackets (though not all–just some). I make this claim because I believe college is for a college education. Follow your heart, remember that part of your true happiness lies in your relationship with your parents, and love running your whole life long. --But yeah, the trails will still be there for a nice hike for the foreseeable future.
Josh
Josh