“If you have a body, you’re an athlete.” was famously said by Nike Co-Founder Bill Bowerman.
I completely agree with this statement. However, our self-perception of what an athlete is can wildly vary, depending on our experiences, self-conceived beliefs, and current activity level.
I was a professional runner for eight years and retired in June 2022. My 22-year-old self, when I was arguably the fittest of my life, would not have identified the movement and activity level of my 27-year-old self as an athlete. But, my 27-year-old self now fully believes I am and will forever be an athlete. The difference is that being an “athlete” is now not my defining identity.
Arguably, one of the most important concepts to acknowledge and understand when an athlete graduates or retires from a sport is their value and identity outside of their sport. The number one reason athletes struggle with graduation or retirement is a continued sense of athletic identity, and it's a valid reason. Moreso than any other lifestyle or identity, being an athlete encompasses many facets of our life: how we view and judge our body, what we eat, our mindset, attitudes, and goals, and the driving motivators for movement and exercise.
Once you move on from your sport, whether you decide to retire or your 4- or 5-year collegiate athletic career concludes, your lifestyle drastically changes. Suddenly, the standard you held your body to (internally-and externally-imposed) can be released. Your day-to-day routine revolving around practice, lift sessions, and recovery will change. The goals, energy, and focus you put into your sport will be redirected to continue personal growth and fulfillment. The camaraderie of a team and the guidance and direction from a coach in planning goals and writing training plans vanish.
While these lifestyle changes, in retrospect, seem obvious, they weren’t to me when I retired. My body changed (expectedly so), and the athletic body that I was no longer seeing in the mirror was causing frustration, disappointment, and grief. My athletic goals, which were my life goals, were no longer befitting, leading me to reevaluate what kind of person I wanted to be. The easily evaluated indicators I had for measuring how hard I was working (miles ran, hours spent in the gym, faster reps) were no longer applicable, making me question, “Am I working hard enough? What am I even working toward?”.
When an athlete moves on from their sport, their daily routine changes, but perhaps even more influential, their attitudes, beliefs, goals, values, and focus will change too. I’m still an athlete, but I’m now more than that. It took me to retire from running and months of reflection to realize that (and that it was ok), which speaks to just one of the many reasons athletes struggle after moving on from their sport. However, when an athlete moves on from their sport, it is also an untapped opportunity to chase passions that have been sidelined, foster a healthy relationship with mind, body, food, and confidence, and savor a momentary pause. Athletes, often driven and relentlessly goal-oriented, seldom spare the time or energy to halt and appreciate the incredible journey their mind and body have undertaken.
How an athlete redirects the invaluable characteristics and lessons they learned from their sport after retirement is up to them and will directly impact their life’s successes beyond their sport. And even though Jordan and I are running coaches and provide training plans, we also want to guide athletes in seeing the value in being more than an athlete. Whether you have recently retired or graduated from your sport and are looking for something 'new', have been running all your life, or just want some guidance in running and nutrition, we'll value you for the person you are, not just the athlete or times you run.
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