Meet the Athlete: Cole Marolf
Name: Cole Marolf
Age – 29
Hometown: Holland, NE
Current residence: Omaha, NE. Moving to Grand Island in July.
Occupation/Degree you are working towards: Resident physician at UNMC
High School – Norris (the cornfield one, not the middle school behind my house now!)
College (major/minor) – Nebraska Wesleyan, Physics/Spanish
What is your running background? – Wesleyan XC, mile-5k, steeple
Favorite distance to run? – 5k
What are your future running goals? – Maybe sub 15 5k?
I can’t run without…? ___________
Do you do anything to stay injury free? – Finally made it 1+ year uninjured. Everything’s gravy now. Not sure if eccentric calf stretches, slightly different running form, or luck, just enjoying it for now.
Do you have a favorite running book/podcast/movie/athlete? – I don’t frequent Flotrack enough to have a favorite, though I did always think Will Leer was a boss. Also, The Perfect Mile was pretty epic.
What is your favorite race you have competed in the past? – Honestly, Club XC almost always stands out; that or the old LaCrosse invitational back in college. Augustana Twilight up there too (taught me to like multi-lap XC courses).
What is your number one bucket list race you would like to do in the future? – Shamrock Shuffle this April. (I’m not a big long-term planner for racing!)
Do you have any advice to other runners? If it’s a priority, mileage and workouts can be done even when you’re working a ton.
What are your PRs? 4:29.6 mile. 15:13 5k. 9:49 steeple. 32:26 XC 10k (in San Francisco, where it was ACTUALLY 10k for once). 74:11 half…
How long have you been an LRC-Nebraska member? – Since 2012
What excites you the most about being an LRC-Nebraska athlete? – Teammates, accountabilibuddies, reasons to go to races.
What does a typical training week look like for you? Walk us through your daily routine (training related and otherwise): – Basically 1 hard workout (Coach Johnny Rutford always finds the edge of my ability for the week!) and a long run. 8-10 miles most other days.
We all approach training and racing differently, so tell us what your short-term and long-term goals are with running: Get faster now, see how long I can keep getting faster later.
Where are your 3 favorite places to do long runs at the moment? From ‘Da’s apartment complex to gravel roads south of Omaha; Wabash; around home in Holland
After a solid race or long run, what is your favorite meal to demolish and replenish those calories? Please use details and give recommendations! Mmm, usually have that turned-stomach feeling after hard work, so whatever’s available that doesn’t sound bad. Working on a theory that yogurt helps guts that got ischemic during the run get rebalanced.
Share a crazy training or racing story, or simply an interesting moment in time: Aside from the great elevator survival story of 2018? Probably getting caught in a thunderstorm/tornado warning in college 5 miles out in the middle of a workout, so just finishing the workout anyway.
What book are you currently reading or TV show are you binge watching? Books: Lincoln (by Doris Kearnes-Goodwin), 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B Peterson; Netflix: GLOW; The Office; La Casa de Flores
You’re the star of a running movie, and the opening scene is you running on a winding dirt road, with a beautiful sunrise. What song is playing in the background? – Menomena, Plumage. Probably segues into Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum though.
