An Interview with Nick Eugster '94

Alumni Office (AO): Nick, can you introduce yourself, your name, graduation year, and where you're at now?

Nick Eugster: Sure! My name is Nick Eugster, Class of 1994. Currently, I'm a deputy general counsel with RAYUS Radiology, which manages a nationwide network of radiology practices and radiology healthcare providers. I've been in-house counsel with RAYUS for a little over 10 years. Before that,  I was in private practice, and I attended the law school at the University of Minnesota. Finally, my daughter Elsa is a rising junior at Breck

AO: That’s great to hear! Tell me a little bit about how you got into running.

NE: So, when I was about plus or minus 28, a bunch of my ex-soccer friends all qualified for the Boston Marathon. I was not exercising at the time, working countless hours in a law firm, and in terrible shape.  I woke up that Monday morning, after they qualified for Boston, and said, "This is ridiculous. If those guys can do that, I'm going to do it." I then proceeded to run way too much, way too early for two years, battle through countless injuries, until it stuck as a habit and a borderline obsession. Growing up, running was never an end in itself, but merely a means.

AO: Nick, did you start off with road races, or did you start right into the ultras?

NE: I started out doing a lot of road running. I ran 10 to 15 road marathons, along with other road race distances, before I ran my first ultra. And truth be told, I think of an ultra as something longer than 50k, so this [Zion 100k] was only my second trail ultra. 18 years ago, I ran a 12-hour race on a road, but the Zion 100k was my second true trail 100k. I envision in the future, during my retirement, when I lose what's left of my speed, becoming a billy goat running the trail races in the Alps. I'm going to be the old guy that everyone thinks is crazy, and I'm going to run for endless hours daily in the Alps; that's my dream.

AO: I can’t wait to see that in the future! Can you share what has motivated you to reach the kind of heights that you've reached in your ultra running?

NE: For me, it's just a process that builds on itself. With the ultra running, I have no particular time goals or place goals, or anything like that. Ultra running is really just a symptom of the overall training, which is in turn a symptom of what's become sort of my philosophy about mental and physical health. Generally, I prioritize my daily run or runs on a level equal to or higher than the two meals I eat that day. So, the training just builds on itself, and whatever outcomes happen are really just the natural result of living like that.

AO: Very interesting! If you think about having conversations with people who are looking at getting into trails and ultra running, what advice would you give to them as they're first starting off?

NE: Any trail running is no different than road running in the sense that the more of a base of mileage you build up, the better you're going to do. I suggest that you pick a handful of days a week that you might go to hit the trails, and slowly over time, spend more and more time on the trails. However, when you first hit the trails, I wouldn't focus on your heart rate, pace, or any other gadget or external data. I would just pick a “time on feet” goal. Just go by time of day, and whatever happens, happens, and just build that up over time. Without worrying about external feedback,  you'll find that you'll adapt relatively quickly to the difference between trails and roads. The trails do recruit far more of your muscles throughout your legs and really throughout your core; it takes some time to build into that.

AO: Thank you for the advice! You said you want to run in the Alps when you're older, but what's in between? Do you have your sights set on any other races that are coming up next year?

NE: Yeah, I turn 50 in November,  and I want to be as fit as I've been in my whole life then, and then hold on to that as long as I can.  I hope to PR at the road marathon at age 50 in November as well (Nice to Cannes Marathon).

AO: That's awesome! When you're running, do you have a playlist or do you prefer to run without music?

NE: For the first 10 years, I never listened to anything under any circumstances. But now I find myself listening to music when I'm running on a treadmill or going for a longer, slower run on my own, knowing mentally it's going to be a drag. As for music, I'm like any other middle-aged man. I find myself listening to things that were popular when I was in high school or undergraduate school. I find the more up-tempo the better. But I don't have any playlists. I'm just basically picking some random things, so it could be anywhere from Metallica to Rage Against the Machine to Nirvana.

AO: Thanks for sharing, Nick!