OXFORD, Ohio — The most apt description of Ava Nuttall as a Rochester Century distance runner was that she was “good, not great.”
Now fast forward four years to this, her senior season at Division I Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Nuttall is still running. But no longer can she be qualified as “good.”
Olympic hopefuls and Division I All-Americans — she is both — can only be given that other adjective.
Yes, Ava Nuttall is truly “great,” and her greatness keeps finding new levels.
“Nothing is impossible,” Nuttall said. “I would love to qualify for the Olympics one day. I will try my very best to make that happen.”
On Jan. 28, Nuttall took her first step in attempting to get there, competing in the Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Fla. She didn’t come close to qualifying, finishing 75th. But that Nuttall made the Trials at all was remarkable. Prior, she’d run just two 26.2-mile races, the first one Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth in June of 2021. The second came this past September, the California International Marathon in Sacramento, Calif. Nuttall’s showing at the latter was inspired, finishing third among all women racers, in 2 hours, 35 minutes. That was 2 minutes faster than the Olympic Trials qualifying time.
So what’s happened? How has Nuttall gone from a “good” runner to this “great” version?
Nuttall cites the individualized coaching she’s received at Miami University as a partial explanation.
“They are very understanding and very knowledgeable,” Nuttall said. “They patiently explain things to me, telling me how to run and what to run. And I’ve learned that running well has a lot to do with taking care of your body — getting enough to eat and sleeping enough.”
It also hasn’t hurt that Nuttall has completely fallen in love with distance running, starring now in both cross country and track and field.
The daily training, the meets — she’s gobbled it all up.
“Running is my happy place,” said Nuttall, who showed up at Miami as a non-scholarship walk-on in track and cross country. “I’m very happy when I’m running. It is something that I truly love and am so excited about. Running just feels easy to me, that it’s (what) I’m meant to (do).”
The marathons also fit that “easy to me” description for Nuttall. She had never run farther than 15 miles before showing up at Grandma’s Marathon two years ago. She had no idea how she’d do and was mostly there just to have fun and try something new.
It went well.
“I definitely wanted to do more (marathons) after that,” Nuttall said. “One minute I’d feel tired and then the next minute I’d feel amazing. The biggest thing is to just stay mentally tough.”
This past fall in Sacramento, things went ever better as Nuttall covered 26.2 miles for the second time in her life.
“My tentative goal had been to qualify for the Trials,” Nuttall said. “I was definitely looking at my watch (as I ran) and was surprised at the pace I was keeping. I just started thinking, ‘This is not over my head.’”
A year ago was Nuttall’s best stretch of running in her life. She was named All-Mid American Conference in cross country, then followed that up in the spring by earning her first berth in the NCAA Division I track and field outdoor meet in Austin, Texas. Nuttall qualified in the 10,000 meters and finished 11th overall (33:51.78), making her an All-American. Weeks before, she’d won the 10,000 race at the MAC Outdoor Championships, which was preceded by her setting the conference record in the 10,000 (33:10.75).
Another secret to Nuttall’s success has been the competitiveness of Miami’s practices. In Nuttall, Carmen Riano and Annie Christie — all three of them close friends and stars — Miami had the top three 5,000 finishers last year in the MAC Outdoor Championships. Riano, Christie and Nuttall are all back for more this season.
“Those 5K girls really push her,” Miami assistant track and field coach Kristin Cupido said. “They are great training partners for Ava. It helps with their motivation, with them all working as hard as they can.”
Cupido has been floored by Nuttall’s college success. She was there when Nuttall showed up as a freshman at Miami, a walk-on without much of a resume.
But gradually, she’s watched her take off. Cupido says Nuttall has earned everything she’s achieved.
“She has made huge strides,” Cupido said. “It’s been amazing. She’s gone from a walk-on to 11th in the nation.”
And with still so much to pursue. Cupido isn’t putting anything past this former unknown. Not anymore.
“She is a great girl with a great personality,” Cupido said. “And she busts her butt to be the best she can be. I am so excited to see what she can achieve.”
