I have a daughter running D1 and another running D3. There is a lot of overlap in the caliber of athletes. D1 is a bigger commitment with less flexibility. My D3 daughter actually competes and travels as much as the D1 team, and it’s all by bus, so travel time may be longer, even if the distances are shorter. If your kid does not eat, drink, sleep and breath their sport, stay away from D1. @momoftheyear check track times of the athletes at the school your son is interested in. 17:54 5k seems more in-line with a club team, but if it is XC, the courses he runs on could be more challenging.
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All good points so far but I think @jmk518 makes a key point about times. Honestly, a 17:54 boy just isn’t close to recruiting level even for D3s (unless he’s a 1:55 800 meter runner and you forgot to mention it). The good news is that this makes the whole process easier. I’d make a list for now assuming running for the school won’t be part of the picture. Then later you can start looking at club team options and, if D3s are On that list, chat with coaches. Club programs at larger schools can be a great experience, and they run in a lot of the same invites that D1 varsity teams run in, just in the open race. So if state flagship is what you were thinking anyway, I definitely wouldn’t make a switch based on running.
I don’t want to derail the thread, but the discussion of D1 and D3 commitment differences and similarities is interesting. I agree that at one level 70 mile weeks are 70 mile weeks regardless of division.
But one of the differences I’ve noticed consistently, especially among guys, is the day to day intensity. A lot of these D1 runners are joining training groups composed of other state champions or contenders. There’s a narrow range of talent and no one is slow. So every day really is a battle to keep up (unlike HS, getting dropped now means running alone). And what made these runners good in the first place is that they are hyper competitive. So it’s not at all unusual for good college coaches to actually reduce mileage of incoming runners to avoid injury.
I haven’t seen the same thing with D3 runners. For those coming from strong and well structured HS programs, D3 college running usually feels like an extension of HS. Hard work, faster kids, more challenge balancing running and school for sure. But just not the same kind of jump in daily intensity I see D1 runners experience.
Just a general observation, not true in all cases. I do agree that travel can be a major difference. I don’t know if D3 athletes are spending much time in compliance meetings, photo shoots, and the like but that can also suck a lot of time out of the schedule.
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