Member Spotlight: Nick Cosmas
Nick joined Trail Roots in 2022 when he was looking for a running community to join. You can find him at the early morning 5:30 Saturday am run, as he juggles family, work, and running. He has been consistently building his base and recently ran a marathon at Disneyland. He also has a passion for adventure running and does long distance hiking and running. He is a friendly face among the group and we wanted to ask him a few questions about his journey with running and Trail Roots.
What inspired you to start running?
In high school wrestling coaches made us run more than most sports. We ran a lot of longer distances (for a high school kid) and I was one of the few that really enjoyed the running. First few years after high school I kept active but really didn’t do any distance running. After a few years a friend invited me to do the Bun Run with them (don’t know if they are still doing it but it’s just a 5k) and while doing the 5k I realized how much I loved and missed running. After that I had a couple of older friends who I ran with regularly on early mornings on Saturday and Sunday. We used to run the 6-7 mile loop around Town Lake.
Why did you join Trail Roots?
I joined Trail Roots because I had started running a lot more on the trail in 2020 due to Covid, then did my first marathon the same year, and ran the Bandera 50k in January 2021. But I did all of my runs by myself and got tired of it. I really needed to show up to a run or two a week to see a bunch of smiling faces. I LOVE to chat while running and that is really hard to do alone. I wanted to join a running community and heard great things about Trail Roots. I also ran into the group every once in a while on the Greenbelt on Saturday mornings and they always looked like they were having fun.
Has your training changed since joining a group?
I hate to say this but I have not been doing a great job becoming a better runner but I do enjoy the group and I look forward to chatting with everyone on Saturday mornings. About a year and a half ago I started doing adventure races with some friends and that has sort of gotten in the way of any running goals I may have had. The running keeps me in good enough shape to keep moving for the adventure races.
What do you love about running?
I’m a big believer in if you do hard things, you become a much more resilient person in all things in life. That said, running just calms me. I feel so relaxed for the rest of the day and deal with anything that real life brings me so much better. I feel like I’m a better dad, better husband, and better friend when I’m consistently running. I definitely get the runner’s high right after a good run as well.
“The cumulative knowledge in Trail Roots is so beneficial to a new runner, or really any runner. Especially a group like Trail Roots where you basically have every flavor of runner all of the time. ”
What is your favorite trail to run with Trail Roots?
Probably Steiner Ranch, I really like those trails and I love that I can get a cup of coffee right after the run before ever getting in my car. The trails are awesome and I would never have seen them without Trail Roots, I didn’t even know of their existence.
What do you think is special about the Trail Roots community?
The people, of course! I love talking to people while I run and there is no shortage of other people that love talking to on our morning runs. Another special thing about Trail Roots is that you can always find people to go run with you on days/times that are not part of the normal schedule. There’s always someone willing to do a run whenever. I, unfortunately, do not get to join the group runs except on Saturdays but I think it is really cool that Trail Roots has something going on most days of the week. One day I hope to join 3-4 workouts a week, but that’ll be in a different stage of life for me.
“I’m a big believer in if you do hard things, you become a much more resilient person in all things in life. I feel like I’m a better dad, better husband, and better friend when I’m consistently running. ”
How do you balance family, work, and running?
Kids do make it tricky because ideally I would love to run at 5 am every morning but I have to be up making lunches and such around 5:45 am. So, I pretty much just get runs in here and there when I can, except on Saturdays when my wife takes early morning kid duty so I can run with Trail Roots. I am VERY lucky that I have a flexible work schedule a few days a week and I live next to the Barton Creek Greenbelt (BCGB) so a lot of times I can escape for a run on those WFH days. I also don’t mind running on a treadmill at the office so that helps with flexibility and getting in a run.
What was the Disney marathon like? What made you want to do it?
So funny because I didn’t really want to do the Disney marathon nor have I ever wanted to do a road marathon but my wife signed me up for it as a way to entice me to Disney. I think she wanted me to do it way more than I ever wanted to do it. It was a humbling experience because that marathon showed me how far out of running shape I have actually gotten. When I ran the Bandara 50k I could have absolutely ran 50+ miles that day. I felt fantastic. I was in such good running shape at the time. I went into the Disney Marathon with absolutely no plan other than “it’s just a flat road marathon, I can do this off the couch”. Well that was so dumb and SO untrue. I completed the run but it was so painful and I was miserable because I was undertrained. I will never show up like that again.
Do you have a racing ethos or affirmation that you use when the going gets tough?
I try very hard to remind myself that I am doing the hard things by choice and I am very lucky to have that choice. A lot of times when I am sucking really bad I remind myself how lucky I am to even be able to run in the first place. Just to be able to show up each day and run. So lucky. To be honest the best for me is when the run is really hard but somehow I’m just lost in every single step and not thinking about the pain. But that’s not always the case, of course.
Do you have any races or goals that you’re working towards this year?
Yes! Myself and two friends are going to do the Eagle Rock Ultra Loop in Arkansas in May of this year. It is a 28(ish) mile trail run that a buddy of mine has been wanting to do for years. We hope to run most of it - the runnable parts. I’m super excited to do this with two really good people.
I also hope to do The Expedition Colorado adventure race in August. It is a 72 hour adventure race which involves navigating to checkpoints while mountain biking, running/trekking, and canoeing.
What advice would you give people who are new to running and want to join a group?
I would of course tell them to join, the cumulative knowledge in Trail Roots is so beneficial to a new runner, or really any runner. Especially a group like Trail Roots where you basically have every flavor of runner all of the time. Also I would let them know that any amount or speed of running is wonderful. If you can’t or don’t want to run fast, GREAT! If you can’t or don’t want to run far, GREAT! Do the speed and distance that makes you happy.