Jan 27, 2004
Nick Cordes- Olympic Mens Marathon Trials Views- 405

Rochester Hills, MI - RunMichigan was able to talk with Nick Cordes the Ashland University alumni and 2002 NCAA DII Cross Country Runner-Up. The Ohio native has only been with the Hansons-Brooks Olympic Development Program since the summer, but he has already been successful at the Marathon. The NCAA All-American in Cross Cross & Track qualified for the Olympic Trials by running 2:20:35 at the 2003 Chicago Marathon. He will be heading to Birmingham, AL to try an earn a spot on the 2004 U.S. Marathon Olympic team.

RunMichigan: How did it feel to qualify for the Olympic Trials Marathon in your first Marathon? What did you learn about running a marathon from that race?

Nick: I was happy to qualify my first time running the marathon. I knew at the time that with the workouts and workload I was running leading up to the race that I should have little problem getting in as long as I did not have any other problems during the race. There are many things that I learned from my first marathon but the most important one seems to be to make sure that I get enough water/gatorade during the race.


RunMichigan: Congratulations on the Disney Half-Marathon. What was the goal for the Disney Half?

Nick: The Disney Half Marathon was used as a long tempo run. It was a hard effort but it was mainly used to get us used to the pace we hoped to run for the whole marathon. We had our hardest weeks leading up to the race and we certainly did not back down for it. It may seem hard to believe that we can run twice as far and hold the same rhythm but with a faster course, less wind, and backing down our training it seems very likely.


RunMichigan: What is your goal for the Olympic Trials Marathon race?

Nick: If you would have talked to me after the Disney race and that week of training I would have told you that I was shooting for 2:12 and a top 3 spot. I have since had some sort of lower back problem that spawned from a misalingment of my hips that I had take place down in Disney. I have missed some critical running the past week or so, and I will not be doing any workouts until the race. I am hoping to first and foremost be able to toe the line feeling pretty good. There are several options to what I would like to do. I still feel that if I am feeling good that I could run around 2:14- 2:16. Of course this is my second marathon, but I feel that I am in a million times better shape than what I was at Chicago.


RunMichigan: How does the Hansons-Brooks ODP training environment support what you have accomplished so far?

Nick: Everything that I have done since July has been because of the ODP and the atmosphere that they have created.


RunMichigan: What are your thoughts about the Olympic Trials Marathon course?

Nick: I do not know much about the course at the moment with the exception that fans are going to be able to see the runners many times. It is a loop course and there are opportunities to see the runners at least 3 times a loop if you are some what mobile.


RunMichigan: What type of training will you do the week before the trials to prepare for the race?

Nick: I will be doing one run a day. My volume has already been cut because of my back problem. The main point of the last week is to make sure that I do not aggravate anything.


RunMichigan: What has been the biggest change from running for Ashland to running for the Hansons-Brooks team?

Nick: I have people to run with everyday. My teammates in Ashland and I would run every once and awhile together. I usually would run farther and a bit faster, which put me solo. Here there are more people on a daily basis to run with and there are people in workouts around me.

RunMichigan: What do you do to relax from running?

Nick: Watch movies and listen to music are big for me, but I do not think that I really ever need to relax from running. Running to me is relaxing.

RunMichigan: What is your favorite workout and why?

Nick: I like doing longer tempo runs 10 miles plus. It is not all out, but near the end it becomes more mental than anything when the legs are getting heavy.


RunMichigan: How has your successful college career at Ashland helped with your transition to the Hansons-Brooks ODP program?

Nick: Well I was able to develop enough to be able to come up here and compete right away with the guys. I could have had a rough college career that would not have got me in as good of shape or mindset to handle doing what we do.

RunMichigan: Where is your favorite place to run in Michigan? And what do you like most about Michigan?

Nick: I like running on the dirt roads here in Rochester. The area we live in reminds me of the places that I have run in the past. There is not much traffic and there is a lot of peace and quiet on the runs.

RunMichigan: Where is a great place to run in Ohio?

Nick: Ashland has some great loops where you will not see much if any cars and mostly a bunch of amish houses. There are great runs there that I honestly miss running.