Spokane’s Nick Hauger rallies from injury to Olympic marathon trials
To be the best, you have to chase the best.
For marathoner Nick Hauger, that’s been a key component of his success – as well as his longevity and wisdom – to help him advance to this Saturday’s Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida.
The 2014 Shadle Park High School graduate spent his high school days competing against runners from State powers North Central and Mt. Spokane, then in college he competed for the University of Portland at the NCAA Cross Country Championships versus skilled runners from perennial power Northern Arizona.
Now competing as a professional for HOKA NAZ Elite, he’s training regularly with those same world-class athletes in the altitude and hills of Flagstaff, Ariz. And at 7 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, he’ll have reached the pinnacle of his many years of training by making his first-ever appearance at a trials event. The marathon will be streamed live via nbc.com but will be aired on NBC on a delayed basis at 9 a.m. Pacific time.
“It’s been a career of chasing some of these runners who have really been setting the standard,” the 27-year-old Hauger said from Orlando after his final preparatory workout on Tuesday. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s helped me elevate to the level I’ve gotten to.”
To even get to the trials, runners have to complete the marathon in 2:18 or faster within what is essentially a two-year window. There were a total of 228 American men meeting that standard, and 215 have entered Saturday’s race.
“I think you elevate to the group you are around and pursue the people who are setting the bar,” Hauger said. “It’s kept me humbled and hungry for more. It’s been a fun journey of doing that. Now I have the biggest race of my life, and I’m still chasing and running next to runners I’ve watched do incredible things in our country in the marathon.”
His time of 2:16:02 in the California International Marathon on Dec. 3 qualified him for Orlando. His career best of 2:12:59 in 2021 came prior to injuries that have derailed his training. He’ll be a long shot to make this summer’s Olympics in Paris, needing to finish in the top two to qualify, or No. 3 if he can run it in 2:11:30 or faster.
In the 2021 Olympics delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic, Galen Rupp was the USA’s top finisher with a time 2:11:35 to finish eighth, with Jacob Riley in 28th and Abdi Abdirahman in 40th. Abdirahman will join Rupp as competitors in Orlando, with Conner Mantz and Clayton Young entering with qualifying times of 2:07.47 and 2:08.00.
“I have to stay in the moment and watch things unfold,” Hauger says of his race strategy against the best America has to offer. “It’s not necessarily reacting, but I have to make the smartest decision in that moment possible. It’s a lot of on-the-fly decision-making.”
After battling a femoral stress fracture that sidelined him from any activity for an entire month, Hauger began his final push to the trials by competing in the inaugural The Boulevard Race in downtown Spokane in September. He finished with a time of 18:43, good enough for 4th overall in the four-mile course.
“It was an absolute blast, and that’s how I kicked off this whole segment,” Hauger said. “I said, ‘Let’s just go and rip the Band-Aid off.’ I was only a couple of weeks removed from taking my first steps on the ground again post-injury, so I went back home to run a four-mile ripper of a race. It was – it was sweet.”
He tiptoed through training after that and was able to punch his ticket with his performance in California. It’s a win, as he says, to just step foot on the starting line in Orlando.
“You can’t take getting to the start line for granted. To be healthy enough to start a race after the injuries I’ve dealt with the last two years is a win in itself. It’s put a lot of things in perspective for me – I approach each race now with a lot of gratitude.”
He’ll trade a point-to-point course in California that had rolling hills and a downhill finish for an entirely different course in Orlando. Saturday’s course is flat and features several loops, and lots and lots of fans.
“There is going to be energy, noise and cheering the entire way,” he said. “It’s going to be spectacular – it lights you up, and there is nothing like it. When there is a crowd around you like that, it’s so energizing.”
He and five of his NAZ Elite teammates arrived in Orlando early to acclimate themselves. Besides the 7,000-feet elevation and hills of Flagstaff, the winters there are cold and snowy – ideal for training but not so much for competition.
“It’s very different, but a nice reprieve,” he said of Orlando. “There is the potential to deal with the heat and humidity on race day, but it’s a completely different environment than Flagstaff and the altitude itself. Training way up there is no easy task.”
He had an illustrious collegiate career at Portland where he was a two-time All-American in cross country and was the 2018 West Coast Conference and NCAA West Regional Champion as a senior. That year the Pilots finished third in the NCAA Championships (NAU won), and then he pondered his potential as a professional.
A former teammate was already in Flagstaff so he looked into joining NAZ Elite. He had some injuries so he wasn’t pursued, but he nonetheless received an offer from the club, sort of.
“My start is unique – I call it the equivalent of being a college walk-on,” he explained. “I hooked onto a pro group and got the chance to earn my right to be there.”
Hauger “spent everything I had to get down there” and worked a side job as a restaurant server and manager to pursue his dream. The pinnacle, of course, was figuring out a way to advance to the trials in one event or another.
“I knew all I wanted to do was get to the Olympic Trials in some way. I figured my best way to do that was to get linked with some sort of team and have a sponsor that would support that goal.”
He originally believed the 10,000 meters on the track would be the ticket to his goal, but he couldn’t meet the standard in 2021. So that’s when he turned to the marathon – or, the marathon chose him.
“I think that’s the age-old question,” he said. “I always saw myself going to the marathon at some point. It was something I needed to choose at the end of 2021 when I made my marathon debut.”
That introduction yielded his 2:12:59 time, also at the California International Marathon, and his days of chasing 4½-minute miles on the track was a thing in the past. The roads called his name.
“It was a crazy ambition, but I kept it close to me understanding that with my will and determination I could get there.
“I was buying into it, and then it went well,” he continued. “I felt like I was one with the distance, so it kind of chose me back. I’ve loved it ever since. I know it’s a love-hate relationship for a lot of people, but I feel like I have the mind and patience for it. I’ll chip away at it and use my effort wisely through the whole distance.
“I’ll get to express that on Saturday,” he added. “It’s this long game of figuring out where you are at and how you are feeling. Maybe it’s not worrying too much about it and saving just enough for that last 10K. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a fun and beautiful event.”