Interview Tuesday: Meet Kentucky Runner Zachary Wilson

Rough Trail 50K

Zachary is another runner that I think I may have met once at a run but in general have mostly been in contact via FB.  As with all the other runners I have done interviews with it is great to learn more about them.  Hope you enjoy the interview and learn more about Zachary


Tell us a little about yourself not necessarily related to running: age, where born, education, area you live in, etc…..
I am 29 years old, born in Lexington, KY. I started my college career at Georgetown College, then finished up my degree at UK. Currently I live in Elizabethtown, KY.

What is your profession?
I just recently changed careers. For the past 6 years I have worked in health care as a Personal Trainer, and Exercise Physiologist. November of last year; however, I changed careers completely by starting a job in the auto industry. I am currently a Product Specialist at Swope Nissan in Elizabethtown, KY.

How did you start running and what prompted you to do so?
I grew up playing sports and during the off-seasons I would run races, mostly 5K and 10K distances with my father. So really my running and athletic background in general began by training with my Dad when I was younger. Today I run because it is a break from the stresses in my daily life. If I am having a bad day, feeling sad, anxious, whatever, running is the cure, it's my escape.

How long have you been running?
I have been a runner (in streaks) since I was a kid. I probably ran my first 5K and 10K race when I was 10 years old. How long I have been running is sort of a tough question to answer, as I had a few years of being horrendously out of shape after tearing my ACL and Meniscus. In my adult life I would say I have been running consistently for 3 years.

Did you participate in any other sports over the years?
My main sport growing up was soccer. I played club, and High School soccer growing up, then two seasons at Georgetown College before transferring to UK. I also dabbled in track and field, and tennis in High School; however, I quit pretty much every other sport I started so I could play soccer year round.

Did you run in grade school, High School or College? 

I never ran competitively growing up, although sometimes I wish I could go back and do so. Soccer consumed my entire life from ages 6 to 20.

So we get an idea of where you have been with running can you share your PR’s for: 5K, 10K marathon and any other distance you may have run in the past.
I was much faster when I was in college, but I didn’t really keep track of any of my times until recently. So here are my adult PR’s

• 5K – 18:38
• 10K – Unknown
• 13.1 – 1:31
• 26.2 – 4:04
• 50K – 5:04

What is your most memorable race or races and share a little about at least one of them?
I would say my most memorable race would be Ragnar Relay, Kentucky in 2018. Ragnar is memorable to me because I was deathly ill nearly the entire weekend. I couldn’t stomach any food and likely had a fever, so I made the smart decision to run my segments anyways. Upon finishing my third segment, I couldn’t even stand. All of my team-mates and everyone at our campsite helped motivate me and keep me going, and I would have dropped out without their support.

I understand you did your first 50k’s this year – which ones were they and how did they go?
My fist 50K was the local Fatass run that Running Soles organized in 2018. I would say that this went very well for me overall. I over-did my nutrition for this race (ate too much for dinner the night before, and too much breakfast pre-race). So all in all this one was a great learning experience for me leading up to the Rough Trail.

2017 Urban Bourbon

Rough Trail is the most challenging race I have ever attempted and I pushed myself way beyond my limits. My training leading up to the race was set back due to a foot injury, which I am still dealing with right now. The course conditions were terrible (ankle deep mud and 27 degrees the entire day). Half way through the race my legs just quit on me, the second half was literally an up hill battle and with 6 miles left I ran out of food. I stumbled into the last two aid stations and would devour handfuls of potato chips and pickles to try to keep my self going. The last two miles seemed to last a lifetime and I could hardly keep my eyes open. I would run for 30 seconds or so until the dizziness became overwhelming, then I would start walking until my vision recovered. It sounds bad but I would do it again with out hesitation.

Also, understand you have a 50 miler on tap for this year – do you know which one?
My initial plan for 2019 was to attempt a 50 miler, which may be a tall task as I am still dealing with this foot injury. I have a long way to go as far as building my base back up but I think its definitely possible. Right now I am eyeing Tunnel Hill in November, but it all depends on if I am healthy.

Do you have a favorite workout you do?
I would say that my favorite workout would be hill-repeats or bleachers with body weight exercises thrown in (push-ups, pull-ups, squats, planks, etc).

How about a favorite route you like to run?
I don’t really have a single favorite route that I run. I prefer to run trails, especially new ones that I am unfamiliar with. If I had to pick a favorite place to run though it would be on the Appalachian trail in North Carolina and Tennessee, near Roan Mountain and Carvers Gap. My family has a lot of history there and its one of my favorite places to visit.

What is your favorite distance to run and race?
My favorite distance to race is the 50K distance. I really enjoy the physical and mental challenge, and also meeting other runners who share my interests.

Do you have any long-range plans?
I really want to qualify for Boston one day, I would also like to complete a 100 miler at some point in my life.

What do you like best about living and running in KY?
I love living and running in Kentucky, particularly Hardin County, because of how centralized it is. 45 minutes to Louisville, 1-ish to Lexington, 2 hours to Nashville, 2 hours to Cincinnati, etc. It makes it really easy to visit many different places, and in-turn run in different places.

Anywhere else you would like to visit to run?
I really want to visit out west again. I have been to many of the national parks out west, but haven’t done any running out there. I would love to take an extended camping/ running vacation to Colorado, Utah, California, and so on.

Do you have any bucket list races?

Bucket list races include:   Boston, Western States, and Leadville, assuming I can qualify and/or get drawn for them (fingers crossed).

What do you struggle with most with regards to running?
I would say my biggest struggle is pushing myself too much. I need to implement more casual, slower-paced runs into my training. I think I would avoid some of these nagging injuries I’ve had if I would listen to my body a little more and slow down from time to time.

What do you see as a trend in running?
It seems to me that trail running and ultra distance running are getting more and more popular. I have also noticed that younger runners are attempting and winning some of the longer distance ultra races.

If you had one, well maybe two or three, things to say those that are running to encourage them what would it be?
Set challenging goals for yourself and find a fantastic local running community to be a part of. Being a part of the Running Soles community has taken me further than I ever thought possible, and provided an avenue to one of the best support groups I have ever been apart of. It has introduced me to many great friendships, and lifelong experiences.

Do you have a website or other social media site you would like to share?
I just recently got on Facebook, but I tend to post more on Instagram. My username is @kentucky.runner

********You can see past interviews here********