Iowa runner Nathan Mylenek finding a path to success

IOWA CITY - Running has never been a problem for Nathan Mylenek.

A sophomore at the University of Iowa, Mylenek has been a leader for the Hawkeye men's cross country team since he stepped on campus.

He led the team with an 8K time of 25 minutes, 9.3 seconds last fall and also clocked a team-best 32:02 10K in the NCAA Midwest Regional. Last week, he won the Greeno Woody Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., in a time of 25:42, nipping teammate Ian Eklin by less than three seconds and leading Iowa to the team title.

No, running has never been Mylenek's biggest challenge.

But school can be.

During the first round of exams his freshman year, Mylenek struggled with balancing his Engineering major and his running.

'It wasn't that running was too difficult, it was that along with academics I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to make it,” Mylenek said.

But he had a turning point after talking to his coach and his dad. He wasn't going to let the first round of exams detour his career. It was a quick learning curve, but Mylenek figured it out.

His decision to stick it out as a college athlete and student has led to great success.

Mylenek went from an outstanding cross country debut to track in the spring last season, placing 12th in the Big Ten Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase indoors, then moving up to eighth outdoors in a time (8:56.78) that ranks fourth all-time at Iowa.

He also ran for Team USA at the Pan Am Junior Championships in Lima, Peru, earning a silver medal in the 3,000 steeplechase.

'It is very rare for a freshman to move that fast in the steeplechase,” Iowa cross country coach Randy Hasenbank said. 'He has a lot of special abilities that some people just don't possess and that separates him from the rest of the group.”

The cross country distance runners tackle in high school doubles in college. Hasenbank said high school distance runners tend to have a hard time adjusting to the collegiate races, which can vary from 8,000 meters to 10,000.

But Mylenek overcame many hurdles on and off the course, including battling plantar fasciitis, a condition that causes stabbing pain in his foot toward the heel. It throws him off sometimes, but he's learned to control and prevent it.

Competing is never a problem.

'During college I haven't been stressed out by a race yet,” Mylenek said.

The Hawkeyes are off this weekend, but run in the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 29.

l Comments: taylor.limas@thegazette.com