I’ve been busy runnin’ (or something), missed two weeks. My bad.

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Nick Willis

Quick Info

PBs

Bio

Nick was born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, where he went to high school as well, becoming the fastest ever NZ high school student in the mile (4:01.33). He went to the University of Michigan in 2002 on an athletic scholarship.

In 2005, Nick broke the NZ national record in the 1500m at the Paris Golden League (3:32.38). A year later, he won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games (3:38.49). He won the NZ Track and Field Championships in 2006 and 2008 as well.

A the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he ran the 1500m. He won the first heat after trailing at the back, and the second heat was so slow he actually told everyone to speed up so more of them would have a chance to qualify. He was boxed in with 250m to go, but managed to place 5th, giving him 9th place overall. In the final, he also hung at the back, pushing up to 6th with 200m left, and finally sprinting past three others for 3rd place. However Rashid Ramzi, who won gold, was disqualified after the games for a positive drug test, moving Nick up to silver.

In 2010, Nick got knee surgery, putting him out for the majority of the season. He did manage to run 5th in the Fifth Ave Mile, but that was after winning it in 2009. He won bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games 1500m, but was not happy with it.

At the 2012 Monaco Diamond League Herculis meet, Nick broke the Oceania 1500m record, placing 3rd with a 3:30.35. He then went to the 2012 London Olympics, eventually placing 9th overall, with a 3:36.94. He later said that he believes he peaked three weeks early at Monaco (though he spent a large part of the race boxed in as well) (video).

2014 saw a streak of PRs, all in 66 days. On May 15, he set a PR in the 5000m (13:20.33) at the USATF High Performance Distance Classic. On June 11, he broke 3:50 in the mile at the Bislett Games in Oslo, becoming the second ever Kiwi to do so. Six days later at the Golden Spike Ostrava, he broke the NZ 3000m record (7:36.91). And at the Monaco Diamond League 1500m, he broke his own 1500m record (3:29.91). Somehow, this only placed him 7th, since the four runners 4-7th place all set the quickest ever times for those places at this race.

Nick entered the Glasgow Games 5000m, placing 10th. He doubled in the 1500m, winning bronze with a 3:39.60 in the last three steps, but was not happy about this either. “It was only my fitness that got me to that medal, not any tactical nous, or brilliance or planning.”

In 2016, Nick won his first World Indoor Championship medal, getting bronze in the 1500m. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he finished 6th in his heat and 3rd in his semi-final, qualifying him for the finals. In a very slow, tactical race (that saw Centrowitz win), he moved into 3rd with 50 meters left, unable to close the gap any further, but holding his place, winning Bronze (3:50.24), becoming the oldest man to medal in the 1500m.

Doping History

None

Controversies

He’s been calling out the Diamond League, saying it should be replaced with 4 major meets. It’s not really a "controversy" but he is being very public and candid about his criticism.

At the 2014 Glasgow Games, Jake Robertson tripped after a collision with Nick, originally saying “that’s the way things go” (Jake ended up placing 9th, one ahead of Nick). Five days later he changed his tune to “not forget the reason I fell in the 5k, including Nick Willis”. Asked about this, Nick’s shrugged it off as “sensationalist journalism”.

Training and Nutrition

• tacos?

• He has posted very detailed training logs on Facebook. Note April 11: The Michigan

• He also writes a lot about training programs for others, including the 10 hour training week (he talks about how he removed doubles, removed gym work (replaced with hills/plyos), and freed up time for family).

Anecdotes to tell your friends

• Nick was the official flagbearer of NZ at the London 2012 Olympics, a huge honor, that meant he got to wear this.

• Nick’s brother, Steve, has also broken 4:00 minutes in the mile, making them the only two siblings in NZ history to both do so.

• He runs an online boot camp on www.milermethod.com that has 6 week programs to drop your mile time (tested by his wife, who used something like it to run a sub-6:00 mile for the first time). They respond to your questions individually, which is kind of cool.

• After finding out American record holder Steve Scott played speedgolf (literally what it sounds like) with a score of 95 in 29 minutes (speedgolf score: 124) using a single 3-iron, Nick decided to sign up for one himself. In his first ever game, he shot a 79 in 43 minutes (score: 122) with a 4-wood, 6-iron, 9-iron, and sand wedge. At the 2013 World Speed Golf Championships (yes, that’s correct), Nick came in 13th. Also he competed in at least 2014 and 2015.

Upcoming Races

Unknown if Nick will appear in any Diamond League events, but he is gearing up for 2017 Worlds.

1. Anecdotes/stories you’d like to share? Thoughts on Nick in general?
   
2. What’s your lifetime & recent fastest mile times? Any plans to improve it?
3. Speed Golf - how well could you do? (each stroke counts as a minute)
4. Anything else you’d like to add?