Cross Country Q&A: Nick Heath

Nick Heath is a senior on the cross country and track teams. We spoke to him about the upcoming season, his past three years as a student-athlete, and how he's recovered from an injury that caused him to sit out last year's track season.

Q: You already hold many school records in both cross country and track. Going into your senior year, how do you want to leave your mark as a runner, teammate or student?

A: One thing I really value most is having a positive impact on the people I run with on my team. In my years here I've built relationships that are going to last long past college. Those are the things that are the most valuable to me as a teammate and student. Of course, I value my performance; I'm really happy to have set records in my time here. I would love to take my shot at those again and see if I can push them further.

Q: This is your fourth and final year running for Pepperdine. What are some goals you have for yourself and the team?

A: One goal I have for the season is to try to get top 10 at WCC. I think this could be the year our team does really well in WCC. We have strong freshmen, and our sophomores have really improved. We've usually come eighth or ninth, but I think we can get four or five spots higher this year.

Q: You suffered an injury during the spring season. Can you tell us about it, and how you've come back from it?

A: Right as we started practice in January for track season, coming back from Winter training, I started having a lot of knee pain. For a while we thought it was a meniscus tear or something else going on inside my knee. I saw several doctors and they couldn't diagnose it. I finally got an MRI, and we found out that it was a stress fracture. I kind of felt like a fool for trying to run on it so much.

I was out from the beginning of January to the end of April, so I missed every single race. It was hard because I really wanted to get out there, but I still went to every meet to support my team. I wanted to be present, but it's hard to be separated from your sport. I'm all good now, and I spent a lot of my time mountain biking and swimming to try to keep my fitness up when I couldn't run as much. By the end of the summer, I finally got back to where I'm supposed to be. It feels really good to be back.

Q: Cross country runners have to practice all summer, so can you give us an estimate of how many miles you ran to get ready for the season?

A: Had I not been injured, it probably would have been a lot higher, but I think this summer I did about 500-600 miles. I had brand new shoes when we started, and I've already thrown them out. They just wore through.

Q: I can only imagine how physically intense practices and meets are, so what helps you power through and keep going?

A: I always try to focus on my goals. Whenever I'm lacking that motivation, I just think about what I can do today to make myself better for the championship race. Is sleeping in really going to help me or is getting up early and putting the work in? It's hard to convince yourself to run 13 miles in the morning by yourself, but every day you get a little bit closer to meeting those goals. You just have to keep your eyes on them.

Q: You've been named a Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete throughout your whole collegiate career. How do you find a balance between running and school?

A: It is kind of hard. I find a key thing is being proactive and forward thinking about how you schedule your time. You have to be disciplined too. Sometimes you get invited to do things, but you know that if I don't get my homework done before my meet, I'm going to come back Sunday night with nothing done. You have to look ahead.

Q: You've had a pretty amazing running and academic career here at Pepperdine. What is your favorite memory or proudest moment as a Pepperdine student athlete?

A: That's a tough question since there's been a lot of cool stuff. I've definitely loved our team trips to Mammoth this past year before the season and two years ago. Both those trips were really fun and good team-bonding experiences. It's the first time you really get to interact with the new guys on the team, so it helps us start off strong.

Q: Reflecting on your time at Pepperdine as a student-athlete, what is some advice that you would give to your freshman self?

A: I would say take it slow, take it easy, but don't lose sight of your goals. There were definitely times when I got a little impatient and tried to put too much work in. There's a time to work and a time to rest. I would also say don't forget to enjoy everything along the way.

Q: You're a senior, so I'm sure you've anticipated this question since we sat down. So here it goes: What is your next step after graduation?

A: I do want to keep running. I'm not sure if I want to join a team or a club, but I'm not going to set running down. As for career and academics, I want to apply for a job. As a finance major, I would love to do something with wealth management, and I'm extremely interested in real estate. I'm thinking I'd like to get a few years of experience first, and maybe go back to school for a master's.

Players Mentioned

Nick Heath

Footer