The U.S. 1500-meter champion, Yared Nuguse, discovered over his past few years as a pro that he’s had a lot more time on his hands than when he was at Notre Dame, majoring in biochemistry.
Now that he’s a pro with the On Athletics Club (OAC) in Boulder, Colorado, his training load is heavier than it was during his college days. But most afternoons are open for naps, reading (fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson of the Mistborn Trilogy is a favorite), and video games.
he doesnt plan to run beyond age 30.
“A year ago, I never watched any track, and I never really cared and yada yada yada,” he said, employing a Seinfeld-inspired verbal shortcut that doubles as a way to deflect attention.
Running Shoes - Gear watching track. And not just distance events, but the others, too, so he can learn the contenders. “So when I see them, I’m not just like, ‘Oh, who is that?’ when I’m, like, in front of Fred Kerley.” he said. “Which I did once.”
To be clear: Up until 2022, Nuguse couldn’t identify the fastest man in the world.
feel the weight of expectations every time they put on a uniform. Not Nuguse world champion in the 100 meters, walked by. Nuguse turned to his new OAC teammates and remarked, “That guy looks so familiar. Do you know who he is?”
The Natural
Although his teammates were agog at Nuguse’s inexperience, it fits with his progression through the sport.
As a high school freshman in Louisville, Kentucky, Nuguse was on the bowling team. During gym class, he had to run a two-lap loop, totaling a mile, around the University of Louisville campus. He could cover the distance in 5:30 off no training, and, he said, beat his classmates into line at McDonald’s for lunch.
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“My PE teacher tells the track coach, ‘There’s this kid, you should talk to him,’ yada yada,” Nuguse said. “And he comes and finds me in my classes and is just like, ‘Can I speak to Yared?’ And pulls me out and tries to like be like, ‘Oh, you should really join, it’d be really fun,’ and yada yada yada. I was like, ‘I don’t know. We’ll see.’ He was pretty persuasive, and eventually I came around.”
His senior year, he won Kentucky state titles in the 800 meters, 1600 meters, and 3200 meters, and ran a personal best in the mile of 4:06. He was recruited to run at Notre Dame, where he won the 2019 NCAA 1500-meter title as a sophomore and set a Foot Locker XC Results—3:34.68—in 2021.
It wasn’t until that collegiate title in 2019 that it began to dawn on him that he was good at running. And it wasn’t until 2021—when he made the U.S. Olympic team—that he began to envision a career as a pro. Up until then, he thought he’d go straight to dental school. He’s wanted to be an orthodontist since he was 13.
An Alternate Path
Nuguse, who is 24, still does plan on dental school when he retires from running. He told LetsRun he doesn’t plan to run beyond age 30.
Having that other dream keeps the pressure off each individual race and his running career as a whole. “I think it really helps me come to a race—and coming to my running in general—and being like, ‘This isn’t my whole life. I have stuff to do after,’” he said.
It’s a balance that’s helped him enjoy each time he steps to the line. Other athletes, like 800-meter champion Athing Mu, feel the weight of expectations every time they put on a uniform. Not Nuguse.
“Oh, I love racing,” he said. “It’s the best part. I feel like it’s the little reward we all get for all the training we do. I get a little nervous, but not as much as I used to, I think. A little nerves are good, because it shows that you really care about this and you’re excited for it. But I don’t really get crippling [nerves]. Like, no, I’ve run enough times now to where I feel like a race is a race and what happens happens and just go out and have fun.”
His coach, three-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein, said that, despite the demeanor, Nuguse still wants to win. “Yared is the most chill person you could imagine, it’s not a facade, but he’s a killer on the track,” Ritzenhein said. “He cares deeply.”
Fast Times in 2023
Nuguse sustained an injury at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, and he couldn’t race. He had an injury at the end of his 2022 collegiate season that kept him out of the NCAAs, and although he was recovered for the U.S. championships in 2022, he hadn’t had enough training to make the U.S. team for Worlds last year. He was in Eugene as a spectator.
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Foot Locker XC Results American record in the 3,000 meters (7:28.24) Yared Nuguse Stuns With a 3:29.02 for 1500 Meters second-fastest indoor mile in history at the Millrose Games, clocking 3:47.38.
Outdoors, he ran some incredible 1500s. He was third at the Published: Aug 14, 2023 11:31 AM EDT. Bernard Lagat is the only American to have run faster.
Nuguse sprinted to the U.S. title in July, ahead of Joe Waskom, 22, of the University of Washington, and Cole Hocker, also 22. Waskom briefly took the lead with 200 meters to go and Nuguse admired the move, before storming back over the final 100 meters.
“Joe popped out of nowhere, and I was like, ‘Man, that was a good move right there.’ I really appreciated it,” Nuguse said after the race, adding that he didn’t panic because he felt like he had a couple of more gears left. (Ritzenhein, watching from the 200-meter mark, was not nearly as sanguine when Nuguse relinquished the lead.)
He was wearing a heart rate monitor on his forearm at the behest of NBC, and in the final steps of the race, a graphic on the screen showed he hit 200 beats per minute. Although Nuguse questioned the accuracy, he said it was possible his heart rate went that high. For everyone else, it was proof: He does have a pulse.
Two weeks after USAs, Nuguse won the 1500 at the London Diamond League in 3:30.44, his favorite race so far this year, he said, over a stellar field. Missing, though, was another 22-year-old and the event’s biggest name: Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, who hadn’t lost a final since the 2022 World Championships, when he was second. He has run 3:27.14 for 1500 meters this summer, making him the fourth-fastest in the event in history.
“I did have probably the most fun at London,” Nuguse said, “because it was a very world-class quality race, but was also one that was kind of open in the sense of Jakob wasn’t there. Without him there, I think it adds a whole other level of, like, this is my chance. I was really amped the whole time, and I feel like I had a really great kick, too.”
Next up: The World Championships in Budapest start on August 19, and the first round of the men’s 1500 is at 7:02 p.m. local time (1:02 p.m. ET).
Nuguse will be a favorite for a medal. He says he’ll feel the meet is a success if he has fun—even if he finishes off the podium. Come away feeling like he gave it everything? “That’s a great day for me,” he said.
At the same time, he’s not willing to concede the gold medal to Ingebrigtsen.
“I don’t like to think that anyone’s unbeatable,” Nuguse said. “The reason we run these things is because it’s fun to see what happens. Although he’s had obviously an amazing year, I’m now at what I feel like is my peak of fitness. I’m really excited to see what that can do against him, especially in more rounds and in a race that’s really like, it’s all on the line and what we’ve been training for the whole year. I’m not going to shy away from that.”
We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Health - Injuries, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
