I could never get back into it

[Penguin728]

When I was a teenager, I did athletics. I sprinted and I jumped.
I trained multiple times a week, I competed multiple times a week, I loved it. Between the ages of 14 and 15 I was reaaaally good. Not insane, but everyone knew me as “the fast girl” in a very sporty school. I won numerous medals for my county, but never quite got further than that.

Unfortunately athletics is a very individual sport that, once you reach a certain age, you don’t generally compete unless you are a very high standard. I plateaued and gave up at 17.

I’m now 26 and don’t particularly have any hobbies. I miss my athletics era so much, I miss accomplishing things, I miss being genuinely good at something and competing, plus it was so fun and sociable.
It’s pretty much impossible to get back into it. It’s not like cricket or football where you can play for a team for fun and play casual games.
I’ve tried long distance running but I’m absolutely not cut out for it.

I don’t know how to sort of fill this void again :(

Have you tried parkrun ?

Yeah and it was fun but I was a sprinter! I’m worse at 10k’s than most of my friends 😭 long distance is absolutely not my thing

Sorry if this is obvious but have you googled "athletics clubs near me"? I just did in my area and quite a few came up.

Try something else fast but team based? Netball/hockey? Football? Roller Derby?

Start a children’s/teen sprinting club

Obviously charge per term and contact a local school to rent out their field

My friend was like you. Now she’s into Hyrox. It sounds like the combination of training and competing and doing something high adrenaline is what you crave, so I wonder if that might suit you too?

Triathlon sprint distances!! So much fun!

Also, if you happen to have a dog or can regularly borrow one you could try canicross (running with a dog).

There are several athletics clubs (for all ages and abilities) near me (North London). Is there no such thing near you? The coaches at my daughter's youth athletics club were brilliant- all former/current athletes.

I used to sprint in school and was pretty good. I do Les mills workouts now, pretty much something for everyone. I do body pump and tone. Not actually competitive but setting goals and seeing results gives me a feeling of accomplishment

If you’re a power athlete rather than endurance and can ride a bike have you thought of track racing? Depends where you are, but if there’s a velodrome near you it might worth looking at. Cycle sprints are brutal but fun in a masochistic sort of way.

First I'd heard of this - looking at the website, it does seem like an option for you @Penguin728 - high intensity and competitive.

I was going to ask you if the competition and accolades are a big part of what you miss? My tentative suggestion would be dance - ballroom, Latin, swing, Ceroc; whatever grabs your fancy. Dance is athletically demanding, extremely competitive and has its own world (or several - one for each discipline). Outside of ballet and, to a lesser extent, jazz, it doesn't require training from childhood and you're in the right age bracket.

There's also Parkour/freerunning which, while it doesn't have a competition structure, is a global 'community' with recognised stars. It combines all of your athletic talents. No idea how you get started, as Parkour UK seems to be moribund. Social media, I guess!

Parkour
Ballroom dancing
German wheel

All disciplines that require stamina, focus, training, skills development - and are quite an achievement!

Hyrox looks fun, and a total killer!

Just join an athletics club? Unless you live in the back of beyond I bet your nearest town has a club. I bet you’re still good!

My neighbours are a family that belong to an athletics club, train most days and compete at a high level nationally (sprinting). The Dad competes and wins at veterans levels. Why do you feel you can't join a club and sprint - even for fun?