Athlete Spotlight -NATHAN WANUCH - National Guard Marathon Team
Name: Nathan Wanuch
Age: 31
Military Rank: Officer Candidate
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario
Current Town: Huntland
Favorite Race: Oak Barrel Half Marathon
Race PR's -
5k: 14:42, 10k: 31:10, 1/2 marathon: 1:15:51 marathon: 2:54:29
Full Time Occupation: High School English Teacher
National Guard MOS: 68W combat medic
Favorite Movie: Pretty much any Thriller, but I especially enjoyed Tenet.
Running Shoe of choice: Nike Flex for all my training. A minimalist racing flat for races. Currently, I race in New Balance Minimus racing flats.
Tell us about yourself? -
I was born and raised in Canada but moved to Tennessee after earning an athletic scholarship to The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. While in college I met my wife, and realized my move to the US would be permanent. After graduating, I began teaching at a small town high school and embarked on my coaching career. After 5 years of teaching, and the births of my two boys, I decided to add a little more excitement to my life and enlisted in the National Guard. When I joined, I had a couple of career goals. First, I wanted to earn a spot on the All-Guard Marathon team, and second, I wanted to become a Physicians Assistant. Two and a half years into my military career, I’ve checked off my first goal and am continuing to work towards my second goal.
Tell us your running story! How did you get started? What do you love about running?
I started running when I was in 5th grade and finished 2nd in my first cross country race. I would continue to compete for years but it wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I finally broke through and found success. As a Junior, I began training with A youth track club and started competing at national junior championships. I focused on my training and as a senior, I was a nationally ranked junior athlete. I continued running in College at Brock University where I was one of the top rookies in the province. After one year at Brock, I was offered a scholarship to run for UTC, so I moved to Tennessee. I ran for UTC for the next four years, earning multiple all-conference placing as well as an all-region finish.
After graduating, I took a long break from competitive running as I took up coaching. I coached state champions and a number of my former athletes currently compete at the collegiate level. Seeing their success inspired me to return to training, but it wasn’t until I learned about the NG Marathon team, that I really focused on training again. I set my sights on the Lincoln Marathon and worked to get into marathon shape. While I’m not where I want to be, I’m making good progress towards my goals and love having something to train for again. For me running is so therapeutic and revitalizing. I love racing and getting to meet other people who share my love for the sport. There’s something about fighting a common enemy (the clock) that makes runners a fun group of people to be around!
Tell us about your hobbies outside of running?
I have dabbled in a couple different hobbies, but focus most of my time now on my family. I also really enjoy writing, so I’ve started a running blog to share stories and advice with other runners. I absolutely love music, and I’m ready for Nashville to revive its music scene, so I can attend concerts once again, but from time to time, I’ll bust out my piano or guitar and play music myself.
Who is your biggest inspiration? Why?
My family inspires me most. I want my two boys, Evan and Elliot, to develop a love for running, so I try to expose them it whenever I can. I also want to show them everything this country has to offer, so if I can travel and race, and bring my family along, it’s the best of both worlds and the National Guard has given us that opportunity. Knowing that they will benefit from my racing is hugely inspirational.
What do you love most about the National Guard Endurance Sports Program?
The opportunity to travel around the country, compete in races, and get paid to do it! This is my first year being involved with the program, but it was one of the reasons why I joined the National Guard, and I can’t wait to experience everything about the program!
As a running and triathlon coach, I have my athletes focus really hard on race day nutrition. Do you feel that is an important part of your success as a runner? Tell us a little about your approach on Nutrtion? Whats your daily nutrition like? How do you approach race day fueling? Do you have specific brands or products that you like to you use?
I strongly believe that nutrition is an integral part of training.
If you drive a finely tuned sports car, you wouldn’t want to put the cheapest gas into it. Likewise, as a competitive athlete, you need to be consuming the right fuel if you want to perform at your peak. It wasn’t until I started to take my nutrition seriously that I really developed into a fast runner.
My approach is pretty strict. I eat almost exclusively home cooked meals (it helps that my wife is an excellent cook!) and I try to eat Gluten Free. I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and try to avoid refined sugar. I also take vitamin supplements (specifically Iron) to help keep my body performing at its peak.
When it comes to race day nutrition, I believe that proper preparation will allow you to be competitive without needing in-race fuel for up to a half marathon distance. I also have a lot of fruit, especially bananas, and nuts leading up to the race. If I’m racing more than a half, I use honey stinger chews and try to take a chew every mile or so, starting a couple miles into the race. Hydration is also vital, I drink water almost non-stop leading up to a race and as early and often as I can when racing.
Tell us a little about your training? How do you approach your training? What does your weekly mileage look like?
When it comes to my training, I believe consistency and patience are key. I focus on health and safety when planning out my weeks and am cautious when building my mileage up. I was covering between 40-50 miles a week leading into my race season. Currently, I’m trying to build up to 60-70 miles a week.
What is one piece of advice you could give a new runner?
Learn how to run properly from the start. It’s hard to change bad habits, so if you develop only good habits from the start, you’ll enjoy a long and healthy running career. Oh and when you’re running, breathe through your mouth! It helps your endurance!
Where can people learn more about you? Social media?
My website is www.RunwithWanuch.com and I’m developing a form analysis and injury prevention service to go along with my blog. I’m on Facebook and Strava mainly (Nathan Wanuch) and post rarely on Instagram (Wanuch_out_of_focus)
