“The Runner Box” Colorado Runner of the Month: Noah Droddy

Backing way up, you were a decent collegiate runner at D3 Depauw, I think.  You’ve turned into a great post-collegiate runner though.  What’s been the progression over the last few years that got you to this point?

I was fortunate to have some success at the D3 level in college, nabbing a couple All-American honors in my final two cross country seasons. I graduated in 2013 and my trajectory towards professional running hasn’t necessarily been straight and narrow, but in the two years since I decided to make running my priority, placing a bigger emphasis on the quality of my training and my training environment has led to some exciting breakthroughs.

And then most recently, 61:48 at the NYC Half Marathon!  Wow, and congrats.  That would appear to be a huge breakthrough.  What gave you the confidence to go with a pace like that?

The confidence came from the training. I had also run well at the Houston half in January in less than ideal conditions. Knowing how fit I was in Houston, coupled with another healthy build up towards New York pointed to a realistic goal pace of 4:40-4:45. Going out that much faster than you have before can be intimidating, but I was confident I had it in me, and was willing to put myself out there to chase it.

That effort came at the NYC Half Marathon then and I’m sure the NYC Marathon is trying to get you on their start line for this fall’s race.  I think you actually started the Olympic trials marathon too though as your debut, right?  Anything you can share about a potential second marathon start?

I did start the Olympic trials marathon, but I qualified so late that we weren’t able to put the training into it. I mainly went for the experience, and to celebrate my first breakthrough at the half marathon that got me there. Now that I’ve matured a bit as an athlete, and have another solid year of training under my belt, we’re gunning for a TBD marathon this fall.

What was the deal with Pizza Hut?  Is that still delivering?

Pizza Hut has a campaign this year where they’re taking one “lucky fan” to every NCAA championship event for a calendar year. For some of these championships they bring in an ‘expert’ to show their contest winner the ropes. I joined them for the NCAA cross country championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was a good time, but only a weekend gig.

Boulder – there’s a good bit of young, fast guys in town now, between what you guys have going on at Roots, and Hudson, and the Boulder Track Club.  Camaraderie or competitiveness between groups?

Boulder is one of the hot beds of American distance running right now. The talent that has found its way here is super impressive, and seems to be spread out pretty evenly among all the groups in town. I like to think of it as a friendly rivalry. I consider many in the other groups to be friends, I know how hard they work, and I enjoy watching them succeed. Every time they raise the bar, I’m motivated to up my game. I’d like to see groups link up more often to form a more cohesive community, and I think we will as time goes by.

What’s your favorite thing in the Runner Box?

I really enjoyed the cookie. Any dessert disguised as a recovery food is OK with me. The giant wet towel will come in handy before too long as well I’m sure.

Thanks Noah, and also congrats on running 13:47 for 5000m at last weekend’s Mt. SAC Relays. You can follow Noah on twitter @ibuilttheark.