I used to run for SUNY Cortland back in 2008 and 2009. Those were some of the best years of my life so far. I enjoyed running for a team that had such companionship and support. In 2008 we won the NCAA Cross Country Championship, first ever in school history for the guys.

Back then though I noticed times were a little slower than they are now. Do not get me wrong, the guys we used to race were fast, but it seems to me there has been resurgence in the more recent years.

When I ran the 5k the top 30 guys would be under 15 minutes. Now that top 30 has dropped 20 seconds to be 14:40. Now it seems to be common place to have guys running the 10k outdoors who run sub 30 minutes, where when I was running it would only be the top man who would break 30.

This is not only happening at the DIII level but I am also noticing it at DI. More and more guys are breaking 14 minutes in the 5k. I just saw the results from this past weekend and tons of guys broke 8 minutes in the 3k. Just a few years ago you only had a handful of guys breaking 8 minutes.

To go one more step up, professionally we have American records and world records being broken left and right. Americans have medaled in the last few world championships and Olympics in distance events when they have been dominated by the Africans in prior years.

I am a little bitter that this younger generation is excelling past me. But I feel more proud that the running community is growing so much. This is what we all want as athletes is to be better. The Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius.” This means faster, higher, stronger. It is an amazing thing to watch old records be broken and for competition to be harder. At the DIII level I hope that someday the competition becomes so fierce that they will compete with the DI guys on a regular basis.

If you are a runner and are amazed by what is going on in the sport today, share your thoughts and let us know what you think. I believe that we share something that is big and will continue to grow.

If you like what you read, please feel free to check out my website at Red Mules Running.