Can anybody tell me what the time commitment is to run at a Ivy league college. Also what the overall experience is like for a middle distance runner?
It’s a Division I sport and the NCAA allows 20 countable hours per week or up to 4 hours per day. That doesn’t include training room time or getting to and from the practice facility. During season you may be working out for an hour in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon and traveling on weekends.
The coaches keep their jobs by putting winning teams on the field - so you’ll be expected to do your part. Here’s a blog post about a day in the life of a Harvard track athlete:
http://www.tier1athletics.org/2012/05/19/the-athletes-view-a-day-in-the-life/
Couple of additional thoughts:
With regard to time commitment, most of the mid-distance guys on my kid’s team are expected to run cross in the fall which means being “in-season” the entire academic year (cross, indoor, outdoor). Not sure your specialty, but if the thought of training for the 8Ks in cross isn’t appealing that might give you something to ask about when talking to coaches/making school choices.
More generally, and to your question about the overall experience of being a mid-distance runner at an Ivy, my freshman son came home for the holidays with a bunch of really great stories about his initial track experience, teammates, and activities. While the academic load and athletic time commitments are huge, it is clear that he and his teammates are finding time to have fun and be college kids.