Brian wrote:
>One reason might be that if he blows out his Achilles or gets cancer or
has
>an auto accident and can never run again ... Nike won't pay anything for
him
>to attend College when he is 30.
>College expenses for U. of M. out-of-state must be $90-120,000 for four
>years.
Well, I know that U of M is a pretty good school, but this is a bit of
hyperbole. Why would he bother, when there are some pretty decent schools
in his back yard (George Mason) where he could live at home and continue to
train with his coach while paying in-state tuition. Or if he wanted to
step up, he might be able to get into UVa, a couple hours away from his HS
coach. In any case, I imagine that Webb could get a very good education in
Virginia for a lot less than 90K.
There's something to be said for a runner staying where he/she's familiar
with the terrain, and with a coach who's constructed a program where he/she
could thrive. Another concern would be with climate - training in Ann
Arbor through the winter/spring will be a lot different than training in
Reston, which gets an occasional snowfall, but where you can put in quality
work outside virtually all winter.
Phil