I've not read beyond the first paragraph but can say that unless you have aspirations and potential to make a career as a pro triathlete your training options should not be a factor in anyway in this decision. Choose the program that is best for your career going forward. You can train any where for this silly hobby.

speaking from someone who is trying to finish their thesis before april; go buy a decent trainer, some good headphones, a giant fan, and a laptop.

if you think you're gonna have enough hours outdoors to train you might want to reconsider your calling.

Appreciate the feedback.

There actually is a pretty large contingent of people who maintain a high level of competition during their PhD programs and I've met and trained with quite a few. I definitely appreciate the feedback, but I'll maintain the delusion for now that I can make the balance seeing how the past four years, I've been able to train at a pretty good level while putting in a consistent 70-90 hours of studying, class and research each week. To each their own, but for me, yes, training will always be a key part of my life, even if not going pro.

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go to the place were you can be most successful in the long run thus enjoying better training the rest of your life. Indoor trainer is your friend. I am a DMD and in hindsight it did not matter one bit were i went, i left NC for Boston and I have gotten stuck in Boston for way to long. Maybe you phd program is the same? In that case Boulder it is!

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

dont disagree at all. i need training to keep my sanity. otherwise i do dumb stuff like sit on ST and search classifieds rather than writing (like im doing right now!)
It'll depend on your program, i just find it impossible to get the daylight i need to train outside. Doesn't help i fly back and forth to London as part of education. i do my gym time at 530am so i'm into my office for 715, and i do my biking late in the evening.

good luck with everything

good feedback. yes, spent several years in Boston recently and was on the trainer at 5am every day. But, the great soft-surface running all throughout Boston and Harvard Masters (shout out to Abe - messaging each other now waiting for Dubai to get started) made it a great place to train, for me. The feedback to work hard now and live in nice places the rest of my life: great feedback. I think Cleveland may be the only real no-go for me, unless someone has positive feedback.

And, I can totally relate on ST classifieds. hilarious. though, watching Grad Cafe this past several weeks has largely replaced my downtime on ST.

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At this stage, those should be your only considerations. Bottom line is that it is "put up or shut up time" in terms of sports vs. alternative career.

Thank you very much.

I would definitely say that I'm not considering athletics as a career! have never raced at that level. But I hear your message pretty loud and clear and this feedback does help make the decision a bit easier, so thank you.

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I second the people part. I have had friends told (brilliant Mensa level) that you cannot be a good father and a good scientist. I know sig others can also piss top researchers off. Just the knowledge of training and racing could be a thorn to overcome. After my sig other went thru a PhD program I would suggest going with where it will be the easiest if you are going for a normal position in your field or go somewhere where you will not train but then find success later as someone else stated.

You're welcome.

Now, if only someone had given me the same advice when I was at your point in life, I might have had my Andy Warhol moment as an athlete, vs. choosing to prioritize what I'm really far better at...

can you clarify: are you saying that if you would have taken a shot of 'putting up or shutting up' in regards to athletics you could have had your "15 minutes of fame" or are you suggesting to put athletics success far out of mind and to focus on career?

to the other poster, I learned a while ago to not share with co-workers or faculty my athletic pursuits: they don't understand. Having worked with and shared offices with phd students, I see them take days off, spend time with family, with their non-athletic sig other (mine is also an athlete), watch TV, go to the bar and what I feel they miss is that if they added all that time up, they'd easily have time to workout.... it's not worth the risk of receiving negative feedback or a faculty member developing the conclusion that I'm not fully dedicated due to working out.

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I remember a friend at Cambridge being told by his supervisor to stop messing around with rowing as he'd never be as good a rower as he was an engineer. It kind of back fired on him though when my friend won the next National Trial for his age group.

In ten years, your decision will have an enormous impact on your professional career (opportunities, satisfaction, earning potential, etc., etc.) and almost zero impact on your triathlon "career". From your list, looks like CMU is a no-brainer. (Though I'll admit, the thought of training in Pittsburgh isn't too appealing!) I suffered through 4 ugly winters in West Lafayette, IN. One of the wisest decisions I ever made.

I assume that you got funding at all of the locations? TA or RA? That was a big deciding factor for me as well. Having an advisor with a solid NSF grant for my 4 years meant no need to TA.

Agree completely. Assuming the PhD is your future and career, you have two paths to choose from. One will impact your life for the next 3-4 years. The other for the rest of your life. Better to be good at one thing than mediocre at two.

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Simplify, Train, Live

100% correct assuming you are going into academics/research, which you probably are if you're getting a PhD. But if you are getting a PhD simply for "practice" reasons, meaning as a Psychologist who simply wants to see clients and has no interest in research/academics/publication might, then your future is not quite so dependent on playing that particular game to the hilt, and you have more leeway in your choice.

But in either case, choosing the "lesser road" PhD program will narrow your career opportunities. And choosing the "higher road," as noted by others, may narrow your relationship/family/extracurricular opportunities. If you know your values, this shouldn't be too difficult a decision. If not, I'd suggest some introspection.

Good luck to the OP with the decision.

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Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Thank you very much. To respond to some comments: 100% committed to academics and a research career at a Research 1 institution. Not claiming to have pro level Tri ambitions, would just like to stay fit and keep life slightly balanced, which is relative; for example: currently read/study 70-80 hours a week and workout 15-20 hours a week; sig other does the same and that's about as much balance as either of us are seeking in life (35 years old), both having already committed pretty strongly to this career path, having already fulfilled a number of our phd course requirements, published, begun collaborations. So, not confused on what a phd entails. Yes, CMU is the obvious choice, but it's out of the top 15 in rankings for my program, so not super cut and dry. More interested in feedback on locations, which some have provided: thank you all!

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Really just poking a bit of fun at myself. I went "all in" on the academic side when I started working on my master's, but if someone had explicitly laid out my options, I might have been tempted to pursue cycling longer/more seriously. As it was, I made the better choice more by luck/subconcious desire/fear/osmosis than by overt thought.

Another thought: an old saying is that you choose your undergraduate instiution on the basis of its reputation as a whole, your masters instiution on the basis of the reputation of the program, and your doctoral institution based on the reputation of your advisor (to whom you are essentially an apprentice being taught their tradecraft). May not directly apply to your field/situation, but it's worth giving some thought to how whom you train under might open important future doors (it certainly did for me).

I'll just reiterate what most have said here. Choose your PhD program for the strengths of the program. I've lived in a variety of places during my MS and PhD, some good and some not so good for training, but I'm not a pro, and so really I can train anywhere.

Make the best decision for your career, and remember that as an academic, this move will certainly not be your last.

Again, much appreciated. My sig other is in Minnesota now and overwhelmed with the city, the single digit temps and we're badly wishing we had our future selves to guide us right now. So, your future self is great!

I may be very wrong, but to date, I've found I can juggle doing one thing really well (or just really committed and not necessarily successful/well) and one other thing pretty good. I see, that at 35, the prior could be my phd and the latter could be athletics this next 4-5 years and then, while working towards tenure, the latter can be family. That may be way off, but as of now, that's the plan. This current year has been a trial run: phd level research and studies and I'll see how this race season plays out and see if I've found a recipe for relative balance. Future self comments welcome...

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It is very applicable and the reason CMU sits at the top of my list and the reason I was there last week to meet concerning collaborations. And the reason the only other two schools to consider are VT and Minnesota - due to advisors. Very good feedback and thank you; it's crunch time for a decision so clear minded thoughts are valuable

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Here's how my priorities were organized when starting Ph.D in Economics:


Priority 1: Finding a school that will pay you the most for your Ph.d.
Priority 2: Everything else.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Thanks: being in a business field, funding is never really an issue. All programs offering at least $20k per year stipends with teaching requirements variable by school and funding for at least 4 years.

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In my experience, the hours one spends as a doctoral student correlates pretty well with the hours one spends as a junior faculty. A friend who just started teaching at an institution spent no more than 50-60 hours/week studying as a grad student and is averaging about 45-55 right now. Otoh, my org chem colleagues spend 60-70 hours/week, and the junior faculties also spend about that much time. Why am I pointing this out? B/c it seems that you "want it all", and while that's certainly not a bad thing, we have only 168 hours/week to give.

The poster N Dorphin has already pointed out introspection regarding what you value, and it may not be a bad time to think a bit deeper. Not many people start (what i would presume to be) a five-year doctoral program when they are 35. You want to stay in academia, which probably means post-doc for at least 2 years, followed by 3-4 years of brutal existence that takes you to when you are in your mid 40's.

You have not mentioned much your family situation, and of course you don't have to, but given the quite unusual circumstances of your academic path, perhaps that's something to ponder about. How long have you two been together, what's the longest time you've spent doing long-distance, do either of you want kids? It sounds as if you two are currently both living in MN, and while living in MN sucks for training, there may be other advantages conferred by proximity to your sig. other.