Nick Stanko ran for the University of Michigan. While at the U of M Nick ran mostly the distance races. After graduating, Nick took to the roads and competed in many different events. Nick qualified to the Olympic Trials with a 2:20.37. Read on to find out more about Nick and his preparation/outlook for the Trials.
RM: How excited are you for the Olympic Marathon Trials and why? Do you look at the Trials as just another marathon? What do they mean to you?NS: I feel very fortunate to be competing in the Olympic Marathon Trials for the 2008 Olympics. I am looking forward to the race and I am treating the Trials as any other race that I peak for. Preparing for an Olympic Trials has been a very rewarding process for myself. I enjoy both the training and racing that is required to be at my best for a race like this, and racing in the Trials solidifies that what I am doing is working.
RM: What has changed with your running since the last Trials? What changes have made the biggest difference in your fitness?NS: This will be my first Olympic Trials. Since graduating from The University of Michigan in the spring of 2004 I wanted to continue training and competing at a National level. Since then I have competed in many of the USATF National Championship Road Races and other major road races across the country.
Consistency has probably contributed the most to my fitness over the past year. Prior to 2007 my mileage was a little lower than the average marathoner (80-100 miles/week), and I would reduce my quantity of training a little prior to any race. This allowed me to perform well in many races, but at the same time I was not getting used to a high quantity of training. Greg Meyer recommended that I start running consistently between 100-120 miles per week, whether I was racing or not that week. I would say it took about 5 plus months to get a little used to it, and my racing performances have been a little slower than previous training segments. It has been almost a year since increasing my quantity of training to its current state, and as I enter the final week before the Trials I can look back when I started to increase the quantity of my training and I am thankful for all those consistent weeks of higher mileage running.
RM: What is your biggest advantage to doing well going into the Trials and why?NS: My biggest advantage to doing well going into the Trial is that I think I have prepared well to run on a hilly marathon course. I have not seen the course, but from what I have heard from people that have run on it, the course is anything but flat. North of where we live (Haslett, MI) there are a few dirt roads with hill after hill. Majority of my workouts have been done on these roads in hopes of preparing for a hiller marathon course. Running on new routes have given me little to compare times with previous workouts, so I am excited to see how race day turns out.
RM: What would it take to make you walk away from the Trials disappointed and why? What would it take to allow you to walk away content from the Trials and why?NS: It would be very hard for me to walk away from the Trials disappointed. I know my training has gone well, and on the day of the Trials I will just run and do my best. The only way I will walk away from the Trials disappointed will be if I know I did not give it my all.
To walk away content from the Trials will be to finish knowing that I gave my all.
RM: What are your thoughts on the level of competition that is going to be toeing the line for the Trials?NS: The level of competition that is going to be toeing the line for the Trials is amazing. It is kind of like a national cross country race, a variety of distance runners will be in the same race. There will be 5k guys, 10 guys, and marathoners. It will definitely make for a very exciting race. The top 3 spots are really nobody's going into the race, and whoever is in the top 3 at the end will have to earn it.
RM: How many more Olympic Marathon Trials do you see yourself competing in down the road and why?NS: I hope to compete in 2 or more Marathon Trials in the future. As long as I have the support from my sponsor Brooks and I stay healthy I look forward to competing on a national level for many more years. Running has become a major part of my life and everyday I am thankful for the gift God has given me.
