Marathoner Poised to Take Another Big Step

By Scott Bush

At the USA Marathon Championships in 2013, Flagstaff-based Nick Arciniaga showed fans why he has to be considered a top contender to make the 2016 Olympic Team. Arciniaga ran away from a strong field to take home the win at the Twin Cities. Building on his championship success, Arciniaga again came up big this past spring at the Boston Marathon. After running a tactical first half of the race, the 31-year old ran strong the final 13.1 miles, eventually finishing as second American with a seventh place finish of 2:11:47. His Boston success was the fourth time he's run between 2:11:30-2:11:56. Such consistency bodes well for the Under Armour-sponsored athlete and he'll look to once again put up a masterful effort on Sunday at the New York City Marathon. 

In our latest chat, we caught up with Arciniaga, discussing his training during this recent marathon build-up, what life is like as an Under Armour athlete and what his expectations are heading into Sunday's big race.

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Scott Bush (SB): The NYC Marathon is here. How's training been going and how are you feeling heading into the big race?

Nick Arciniaga (NA): Training has gone about as well as I have ever had it go leading into a marathon. I started my specific training for the NYC Marathon back in August with my base phase, which lasted for about 7 weeks and I got up to 160 miles/week. The last 6 weeks I have cut back the mileage in order to get a lot more quicker/tougher workouts in to prepare for the course in NYC. All of my workouts have gone well and I am feeling good and legs are feeling fresh coming into race week.

SB: The course in New York is a very tactical course compared to many "speed" courses. What work have you put in to be prepared for the challenges NYC brings?

NA: NYC is a tougher course, with many long bridges and hills throughout, to prepare for this I needed to strengthen myself for those uphills, and that is where the heavy weekly mileage plays a huge part for me, during my base period I ran tough uphill routes in Flagstaff, that gain 2000ft over 5 miles. This and doing workouts on the rolling hills of Lake Mary road helped to prepare me for the course.

SB: Ryan Vail came up to Flagstaff for a few weeks and you two got to train together. Do you think you two will try to race together a bit in NYC? What's your race strategy heading in?

NA: We talked a little bit about strategy; he ran the race last year, but I have not raced this one since 2009. It is always hard to predict what the lead pack will do, however I would like to stay with the front group as long as possible and race rather than making it a time trial. I'm sure Ryan and I will be pretty close during the race and our plans may work out to be the same, but this is always something that I will wait and see what happens once the race starts.

SB: How has your training changed this time around compared to your build-up for the USA Marathon Championships in 2013 and Boston earlier this year?

NA: My training has been very similar to what I did before the US Champs and Boston. the main difference is that I have put an increased focus on uphills rather than downhill training that I focused on before Boston  and a bit higher mileage than I did before the US Champs.

SB: You’re sponsored by Under Armour, which isn't the more conventional shoe sponsor in the pro running world. What's it like being part of Team Under Armour? What are they like as a company?

NA: Being a part of Under Armour has been great, the clothing is amazing and the shoes are great, as well. You might knock that as being the 'company line', but I have used their products since three weeks before Boston and was able to run a 2:11 in their shoes. That should tell you all you need to know about the quality; it’s top notch. As a company they are amazing, everyone that I have met loves their job and are extremely enthusiastic about the direction the company is heading, and it is exciting to be a part of it.

SB: The UA Challenge just wrapped up, but can you share what it's all about? What was it like for you to connect with all different levels of runners?

NA: The UA Challenge utilizes the MapMyFitness (MapMyRun) website for you to track and compare your training leading into NYC with every other runner who is training virtually along with you. The challenge is to be active and and prizes are award to the person who logs the most mileage in training between 10/7 - 10/28 using a GPS device. There are also widgets on the page where I give marathon training tips as well as have all of my uploaded runs for people to track my training. I love connecting with runners of all levels. I relate myself closely with them because of what we all have in common; a love and passion for running. 

SB: You live in Flagstaff and it seems over the past year nearly every American pro distance runner has ventured out your way. What's it like living in the running mecca of the U.S. and how often do you get to run with athletes from out of town?

NA: I love it, year round we have so many runners in town to train for 4-8 weeks at a time. It is great to have different people to train with and show around on runs that they may or may not have done previously. I get to interact pretty closely with top runners throughout our sport, which awesome because I am a running nerd and am a fan of a lot of the runners that come up here. It is also great for the running community. We have many of these athletes come out to my running club, Team Run Flagstaff, and talk with runners of all ages, and well as take part in the weekly workouts that we run.

SB: Last question...in a few words, what are you most excited for in NYC?

NA: I’m excited for the race to begin. I feel most comfortable right after the gun goes off and I am running in a pack of guys who are battling each other to see who is the best.