Portland Alumnus wins marathon, qualifies for 2008 Olympic trials
By Andy Matarrese
Former University of Portland runner Nick Schuetze won the St. George Marathon in St. George, Utah, on Oct. 6 with a blistering time of two hours, 16.42, qualifying for the 2008 United States Olympic Time Trials.
The marathon was Schuetze's first, and he said it was one of his best races. He was the first in a field of almost 3,000 runners.
"The conditions were perfect," Schuetze said. "It was mostly downhill. There were rolling hills the first half and the second half was pretty much downhill or flat."
Schuetze ran at the University of Portland for five years on the cross country and track teams, graduating in 2004. In track, he mostly ran the ?5 K and occasionally the 10 K and did the 10 K in cross country.
Schuetze was surprised with his time and only planned to run in the two-hour, 20 minute range.
"I'm looking at my splits and thinking, 'What the hell? This is too much,'" he said.
Race workers were surprised with his performance as well, causing Schuetze to miss a water station during the race.
"They weren't ready for me," Schuetze said.
Schuetze feels very happy with his race, but admits that he is still coming to grips with the win.
"Honestly - that race - I've never felt better in a race before," Schuetze said. "It hasn't really hit me yet."
Prior to the race, he was concerned about his ability to run marathon distances and his lack of experience.
"I was just worried that I didn't have the mileage," he said.
Training after college has been difficult, according to Schuetze, and that is often the case for all runners after college. Usually, only about the top five distance runners in the country will continue running at highly competitive levels, earning shoe sponsorships or going pro.
"It's really difficult, I think, for runners to run post-collegiately," he said.
Schuetze has been running with Team XO, a prominent running club in Oregon, to continue training. The organization has fit the bill for several race entry fees and has helped Schuetze train.
"There are a lot of grass roots organizations, clubs or teams being formed to help amateur runners after college," he said.
Schuetze was thankful for the support that he's been able to get through Team XO, saying that racing and training is much easier when having the support of a group and assistance in training. Running to represent a larger group also helps with motivation.
"There's all kinds of things I've learned from coaches and elite runners," Schuetze said, among which were things like sleeping habits, training regimens and race strategy.
He's wanted to be in the Olympics since the fifth grade, but he said that he's more than satisfied to be able to run at the New York Marathon for the 2008 Olympic Trials on Nov. 4.
Schuetze said the competition will be stiff and hopes to place in the 25th to 30th place range.
"I'm really proud of him because he had a lot of hardship in his five years running with us," head men's cross country coach Rob Conner. According to Conner, Schuetze's career was marred by frequent injury and problems during races.
Schuetze, who passed out during a few races in college, vomited several times during his marathon.
"That's typical Schuetze, doesn't surprise me," Conner said. "Whatever could possibly go wrong usually did."
According to Conner, Schuetze's time places him among the top five fastest marathon times by Portland alums.
Conner said that ex-Portland runners Joe Driscoll, Andy Martin and Pete Julian will also be running in the trials, and former Portland standout Uli Steidl may also try out for the German marathon team.
