IN FROM THE COLD, STANKO HOPES FOR HONOLULU SUCCESS
By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

HONOLULU (11-Dec) -- Of the nine elite men entered in tomorrow's 38th edition of the Honolulu Marathon, Nick Stanko will surely feel the effects of the tropical conditions here the most.  Living and training in Haslett, Mich., where he is a high school art teacher and a cross country and track coach, Stanko has done what he can to manage the 66 degree temperature drop from frigid Mid-Michigan to this warm and breezy island state in the Pacific.

"I'm in great shape," Stanko said during a poolside interview at a Waikiki Beach hotel.  "I had a great training segment leading up to this.  Probably the biggest issue will be the climate change.  It was 9°F (-13°C) when we left Haslett on Thursday."

Stanko, who is here with his wife Theresa and five year-old daughter Claire, is self-coached, although he said he did consult with marathons coach Brad Hudson about his training for this event.  Bundling up against the cold, and running before dawn around a shopping mall where there is enough light to see, Stanko said he got up to 130 miles (210 km) per week in his build-up, regularly running 110 miles per week "comfortably."  On Hudson's advice, he said his longest run was 28 miles (45 km), and that he took special steps to help his body adjust to a warm weather marathon.

"I've tried to do some things, like runs on the treadmill, you know, where it's warmer, and getting in a sauna," he explained.  "I feel I am as prepared as I can be."  He added: "We all have to run in it."

Stanko got the idea to come to Honolulu from his University of Michigan coach Ron Warhurst, a frequent guest at the Honolulu Marathon.  Stanko won the 2009 Detroit Free Press Flagstar Bank Marathon in 2:20:24, and Warhurst contacted the marathon's executive race director Jon Cross, a dentist who is also a former Michigan athlete.

"Ron just suggested that it would be cool to have this guy out here, and Jon went with it, fortunately," said Stanko who keeps his hair shaved close to his scalp.  He continued: "Ron was my whole connection and I owe this whole trip to Ron."

With a career best time of 2:19:37 from the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in 2009, some ten minutes slower than the next fastest man in the elite field, Stanko has no illusions about winning tomorrow's race.  Nonetheless, he's hoping for a good performance and wants to make the most of the opportunity he's been given.  He knows that some of the top Kenyans, six of whom have never run in Honolulu before, may struggle late in the race if the early pace is too fast.  He also pointed out that unlike him, they are not used to running in the dark.

"I don't know what the leaders will do, and you can't control that," Stanko said.  "If it's in me, I'd like to go out with them.  If not, I hope that I can be strong and hopefully catch them coming into the finish."

Stanko, 29, made his marathon debut in Detroit in 2004, the same year he graduated from the University of Michigan, clocking 2:20:29.  In Chicago in 2006, he qualified for the 2008 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon in New York City by running 2:20:37, and at the Trials he finished 78th out of 104 athletes.  He is planning to run the 2012 Trials in Houston and has already qualified by running a 1:04:43 half-marathon in Houston last January.  He sees the Honolulu race as a stepping stone for getting ready for the Trials.

"That's one of the nice things about this marathon," Stanko reasoned.  "It's kind of in between the next Trials.  It will be the only marathon I do from now until the Trials.  So, why not take some chances, try some new things (in training) and see how I respond?"

Stanko studied ceramics in college, and also enjoys painting.  But he said today that most of his artistic energy is going into running now.

"I think at this point now I tell people that running is my art," he said.  "Just time-wise, I put everything into running that I can. Then, in the classroom that's where I get to keep my hand in the art process, just working with the kids."

PHOTO: Nick Stanko relaxes poolside before the 2010 Honolulu Marathon (photo by Jane Monti)

ENDS