Photo by brightroom.com

I first met 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and Washington, DC area elite Nick Gramsky at the 2006 Miami Marathon. We were both there to run for our company, Lockheed Martin, in the U.S. Corporate Athletic Association (USCAA) Marathon championships. With a PR 12 minutes faster than mine, I was surprised not to see him bolt off into the distance at the start. Having run for the University of Miami, he was wise to the sweltering, sub-tropic conditions that we experienced that morning. Nick ran a judicious race that day (2:39:41 good for first in the USCAA championships and 13th overall in the marathon with a negative split half-marathon). As I expected, he passed me before the ten-mile mark.

The Washington Running Report caught up with Nick as he was beginning a self-described comeback.

Washington Running Report: How did you discover running?

Nick Gramsky: I really found running in the 7th grade. We ran cross-country in gym class. I always thought I was a terrible runner. After the second day, I finished second. I discovered that I was naturally good at it and enjoyed running fast. I guess it was all the running I did in pee-wee football. They made me be an offensive lineman and I wanted to be a running back. Every time we had to run laps I'd run the lap around the field (approximately 350 yards) as fast as I could. Little did I know I was basically doing 400m interval training. I then decided to run on the track team in middle school and high school. As my high school career took off, I knew I found something that would take me on a long journey for the rest of my life.

WRR: Why have you decided to make DC your running home? Describe your relationship with your coach/training partners.

NG: That was on accident. I was really coming home to work for Lockheed and be close to my family. I had a lot of job offers but considered running to be second-rate. I always thought one day I could be a good marathoner but I thought it would come from me just getting older and stronger on my own. My college put me in touch with Gags [Coach Frank Gagliano]. I thought I'd be running in the 5:00 group but he liked what he saw so he let me run with the Reebok Enclave. The Enclave broke up a few months later but I stuck on with Centro [American University's Coach Matt Centrowitz]. I basically spent the next year chasing Andre Williams and others. Dre [Andre Williams] was almost my mentor. I'd show up to his house every Saturday and we'd grind out a good hard 16 to 20 miles. I'd meet him and the rest of the group for Thursday tempos and ridiculous track sessions. It was intense. I remember running faster than my 8K PR in a morning session, only to come back in the afternoon to do 400- meter repeats. Running under Centro was ridiculous. I call him the "Bobby Knight of Track and Field." He's very intense. What he says is simple but genius. There's no complex plan--just run, run hard and don't race until you're ready. All I did was run. Work came second. Life came third. He once told me before I left for a wedding "Do I think you're a bad person? No. Do I think you'll do the workout I give you? Yes. Do you think it will be the same? No. Will you work as well by yourself? No. You'll lose footing. Stay in town."

WRR: Tell us about the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials experience.

NG: The 2004 Trials was awesome. I'd been on a stage like that before but not in a long while. I made the Foot Locker finals in high school and that was big. This was the same thing only now at a higher level. It was nuts. I had only run one marathon before my 2:20 qualifying mark. I was on 2:17:30 pace and the wheels fell off--hard. My shoe also broke. It's what led to my stress fracture and the first of many injuries. I didn't realize my shoe broke until two years later when I put it back on. The heel had split. When the wheels fell off and my form died, the zero-support shoe killed my leg. A stress fracture appeared a month later when I tried to run again. WRR: You have coped with injury over the past few years. How are you handling that?

NG: Well, I got fat after the last injury. It was rough. I knew I was done. I told Centro I was done running competitively. He said I was done for good. Mike Spinnler always told me, "A runner doesn't stop running until they put the last nail in the coffin." He's right. I think there are two types of runners: Those who are awesome for a period and stop and those who are obsessed. I'm the latter. You have to be. Why else would you run 22 miles when it's 3 degrees outside? Why else would you do a 1-mile loop 22 times when that is the only place clear of snow? Why else would you run at 9:30 at night and then at 4:30 in the morning and when the heat in unbearable? You have to be nuts. I'm not committing 30+ hours a week to it like I was, but I am still running. I want to be competitive. It's in my nature. Now I want a turn at 50-milers. I need to stay healthy long enough to get back into shape. WRR: What advice do you have for folks trying to "get back into it" after injury?

NG: Take your time. The older you are the more it takes and the more maintenance you have to do (stretching, strengthening). Modify your goals at first and then adjust when things stay consistent. And don't lose faith. If you get frustrated, give it up for a month or two. In 2005 I thought I would never heal. My stress fracture took 16 months until I was good to run again. There was a month when I said, "forget it." I swam and biked. I hiked. I stayed away from running. It was good for the soul.

WRR: You have a full-time job. How do you balance work/running? Describe your schedule and workouts.

NG: It's rough. I was working part-time for part of my period running. In 2003 when I was at my best, I'd work seven days a week to get the hours in. I remember going to a race, coming back on Saturday but having to still work a few hours for the week. Sometimes I'd head straight to work, take a nap in my manager's office, then punch in when I woke up and work until night. WRR: What are your short-term and long-term goals?

NG: Short term: get healthy and get in 2:36 marathon shape by the winter. Long term: be competitive at ultras. I love long races. I'd like to do some 24-hour solo running races. I'd like to be competitive at them at some point.