Nick Willis says thank you and farewell on Instagram

Yep. Amazing career. Well done, Nick!

I wrote a piece on NIick before that came out.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2021/08/nick-willis-bows-out-of-the-olympics-with-some-great-advice-for-young-athletes-struggling-with-pressure/

I went to a rival school while Nick was running at UofM and we are the same age. We all know that he was a great competitor back then, which hasn't changed over the years, but he was also the same standup guy. Always invited people from his heat to go on a campus tour cool down after the race and was always open about his training, his race day plan, etc. Hard to find a nicer guy in track & field. Also, being the same age as Nick it is hard for me to fathom competing today at the level I was back in 2006 and I was lucky to be in the same races as Nick; was never near his level. In any case, cheers to an easy guy to look up to.

Willis is one of the best. Amazing consistency and always seems like such a decent person.

I also appreciate his advice about having perspective and about dealing with social media and the media in general. He may be old enough to be able to turn off his phone and not care. I expect some of the young athletes who have grown up in a world where their phone is a permanent extension of their body really need to learn that lesson.

WMIRunner wrote:

I went to a rival school while Nick was running at UofM and we are the same age. We all know that he was a great competitor back then, which hasn't changed over the years, but he was also the same standup guy. Always invited people from his heat to go on a campus tour cool down after the race and was always open about his training, his race day plan, etc. Hard to find a nicer guy in track & field. Also, being the same age as Nick it is hard for me to fathom competing today at the level I was back in 2006 and I was lucky to be in the same races as Nick; was never near his level. In any case, cheers to an easy guy to look up to.

This is a cool first hand story. Glad you had the opportunity to compete with him. Confirms everything I've heard as well.

Another HUGE cheer for Willis here.

Federer-like combo of outward grace and humility, but inner resolve and grit. Fire and ice. And matching longevity too!

That Kessler kid is insanely lucky to have him as role model.

I didn’t post on the recent thread, but he would be the athlete I would be most disappointed to learn was a doper.

Absolute class for a really long time. Also appears to be a God-believer who actually tries to walk the walk and radiate the holy spirit to others in his actions, unlike the grotesque GOP version of “Christianity” we often see. I know that doesn’t matter to many, but it does to me.

Bravo to a legend.

Nick Willis is a class act. Three years ago, I attended his virtual miler camp. I followed the program and at the end of the camp in six weeks... my 1500m time did not improve.

I reached out to Nick and his wife, giving him my feedback on how I felt with each training day. They created a new plan for me and I tried it for another 4 weeks. My 1500m time came down, IIRC, about 14 seconds! Equally important, Nick and his wife explained why the original approach (that worked for everyone else) didn't work for me. That was worth the cost of the camp!

Best of luck in your future endeavors, Nick!

positive k wrote:

Absolute class for a really long time. Also appears to be a God-believer who actually tries to walk the walk and radiate the holy spirit to others in his actions, unlike the grotesque GOP version of “Christianity” we often see. I know that doesn’t matter to many, but it does to me.

Bravo to a legend.

I noticed that recently too, love Nick

fisky wrote:

Nick Willis is a class act. Three years ago, I attended his virtual miler camp. I followed the program and at the end of the camp in six weeks... my 1500m time did not improve.

I reached out to Nick and his wife, giving him my feedback on how I felt with each training day. They created a new plan for me and I tried it for another 4 months. My 1500m time came down, IIRC, about 14 seconds! Equally important, Nick and his wife explained why the original approach (that worked for everyone else) didn't work for me. That was worth the cost of the camp!

Best of luck in your future endeavors, Nick!

Woah thats really cool. What was the difference between the new vs. old plan?

WMIRunner wrote:

I went to a rival school while Nick was running at UofM and we are the same age. We all know that he was a great competitor back then, which hasn't changed over the years, but he was also the same standup guy. Always invited people from his heat to go on a campus tour cool down after the race and was always open about his training, his race day plan, etc. Hard to find a nicer guy in track & field. Also, being the same age as Nick it is hard for me to fathom competing today at the level I was back in 2006 and I was lucky to be in the same races as Nick; was never near his level. In any case, cheers to an easy guy to look up to.

At the PENN Relays I got to race against him also in a few cross country races. I am close to his age also at 39. In my prime I ran 3:45.09 for a 1500m in 2006. I wound up with a heart condition and needed a stent in 2015. Today I am healthy and can run sub 5:20 in the mile and sub 24:00 for 4 miles. Too see Nick close to my age running 3:35 I thought was one of the highlights of the Olympics. He is a real class act a great competitor and would love to see him running sub 4 until at least 45. Too think about running a 3:45 1500 to me is crazy to see Nick running at his level still makes to feel young still. Does anyone have his actual sub 4 count? He has to be very close to the century club the magical 100 mark.

Vancomycin wrote:

fisky wrote:

Nick Willis is a class act. Three years ago, I attended his virtual miler camp. I followed the program and at the end of the camp in six weeks... my 1500m time did not improve.

I reached out to Nick and his wife, giving him my feedback on how I felt with each training day. They created a new plan for me and I tried it for another 4 months. My 1500m time came down, IIRC, about 14 seconds! Equally important, Nick and his wife explained why the original approach (that worked for everyone else) didn't work for me. That was worth the cost of the camp!

Best of luck in your future endeavors, Nick!

Woah thats really cool. What was the difference between the new vs. old plan?

I agree, this sounds almost too incredible.

fisky, can you please share the differences between the plans?

positive k wrote:

Another HUGE cheer for Willis here.

Federer-like combo of outward grace and humility, but inner resolve and grit. Fire and ice. And matching longevity too!

That Kessler kid is insanely lucky to have him as role model.

I didn’t post on the recent thread, but he would be the athlete I would be most disappointed to learn was a doper.

Absolute class for a really long time. Also appears to be a God-believer who actually tries to walk the walk and radiate the holy spirit to others in his actions, unlike the grotesque GOP version of “Christianity” we often see. I know that doesn’t matter to many, but it does to me.

Bravo to a legend.

As a Roman Catholic I'd like to know what the grotesque GOP version of “Christianity” means to you. Do you know all republican Christians in America? I didn't think so. You threw that out there without context. N/W is from N/Z right? What does his belief system have to do with the GOP?

my views can change wrote:

Vancomycin wrote:

Woah thats really cool. What was the difference between the new vs. old plan?

I agree, this sounds almost too incredible.

fisky, can you please share the differences between the plans?

Yes, please share, this is fascinating. Did it have something to do with you being more of a sprinter compared to the other participants?

That was so classy. Now it time to go mentor the 2024 Olympic 1500 meter champion. You know that USA HS kid that ran 3:34 earlier this year.

Happy Jack, are you sure you can't even guess some of the grotesque versions of Christianity the commenter is alluding to? Not a single clue?

In the meantime, I would ask what "As a Roman Catholic" has to do with anything. I could certainly tell you what that offhand comment, and the RCC means to me, as well as many others, but I'd hope you can guess.

The thing about Willis is my respect grew for him even more when he was open about his struggle and something millions of people have gone through at some stage. To have the guts to be raw and honest as a public figure takes a lot. Take him or leave him, he isn't pretending to be someone he's not. He's always been the same guy, open about life, not holding back. I think the poster referring to Christianity was saying that the guy is a refreshing version of someone serious about their faith instead of trying to hide behind it as this perfect person with no faults.

John 8:7 "They kept demanding an answer, so Jesus stood up and said, all right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

John 3:17 - For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but save the world through Him".

Great career, hard to measure in numbers alone.

Willis called Moroccans as ‘Maro-cans’

Referring to their use of Epogen (which helps the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells)