Runner finds stride at IU

Robby Nierman is an athlete who strives to be last — and his teammates commend him for it.

As an under-the-radar transfer from Miami University of Ohio, Nierman entered his sophomore year as the last man, the slowest on the IU track and field distance roster. Now, as the lone senior member of the men’s distance team, Nierman is the last person anyone would expect to have national championship
aspirations.

But, with a strong head and an even stronger work ethic, Nierman has made a lasting impression during his three years at IU.

Running is a sport of chase. Yet when it comes to practice, there is little means of escape. Mileage lost cannot be replicated, and the clock does not accept
deception.

Nierman learned this lesson the hard way during his freshman year at Miami. Lacking proper motivation and a rigorous training schedule, he lost a year of eligibility squandering his talents in the dining hall.

“My first year here was a pretty big struggle,” he said. “But I always had my head down, and kept driving forward.”

Nierman openly admits to the reality of the freshman 15. Entering his first season at IU, he weighed 17 pounds more than his high school physique. The 15th man on the distance roster, he said every workout was a race to hold on to the back of the pack.

But Nierman held. And, slowly but surely, he climbed.

The first step in Nierman’s metamorphosis was to adjust his workout routine. He increased his mileage from 55 to 75 miles per week. Unlike his days at Miami, there was no hiding — no way to let his talent slip between the lanes. Athletes were required to run seven days a week, come in early Sunday mornings and spend late afternoons in the weight room at least twice a week.

It was a coaching philosophy that suited Nierman. He said IU offered him a place to push himself, something he longed for at his former university.

The effects, however, would take a hard-fought 18 months to show.

In his freshman year at IU, Nierman clocked a slow eight minute and 48.86 second three-kilometer run. By his junior year, Nierman was running eight minutes and 46.58 seconds in the steeple chase, a 3.2 kilometer race which involves clearing barriers and wading water puddles.

Training alongside 11-time All-American Andy Bayer, Nierman qualified for the 12-man steeplechase finals at the NCAA Outdoor National Championship as a redshirt junior at IU.

Teammate J.R. Ricker said the little things contributed to Nierman’s success. He said Nierman never wavers from his healthy diet, he stretches with purpose and he is always last to leave the training room.

Ricker said Nierman’s regimen is a running joke amongst the team, but commands respect.  

For IU Coach Ron Helmer, Nierman’s work has sent a precedent for athletes of at every level.

“Robby makes life really difficult for a bunch of people who struggle to commit,” Helmer said. “He’s proven that if you want it bad enough, and you’re willing to do that work, you can perform at a very high level.”

These compliments are not taken lightly by Nierman, who is no stranger to humility. He said it was tears of gratitude which fell as he crossed the finish line at the 2013 Big Ten Cross-Country Championships — IU’s first Big Ten title since 1980.

“It couldn’t have been any more perfect,” he said. “For me to go out in my senior season with a Big Ten title, and with the guys that I train with and love to death — they’re all like family to me.”

During his final season for IU, Nierman has not allowed complacency to creep into his work ethic. He pushes himself and his family of runners, often sending out motivational emails and text messages to the team.

After a five-point loss to Purdue earlier this season, Ricker said that Nierman took it upon himself to deliver an impassioned post-meet speech about the importance of fight — something that Nierman is all too familiar with, thanks to his beginning years at IU.

“He’s been a leader, and he doesn’t mind holding people accountable,” Helmer said. “I appreciate his efforts in particular, because in this day and age, there’s not a lot of people willing to do that.”

Nierman has many aspirations for his final season as a Hoosier. His numerous goals include qualifying for indoor nationals, winning a Big Ten title and finishing top-five in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

He said he wishes he could stick around to see the great tradition of IU distance runners continue. He is the lone graduate from the promising young squad.

“I would be shocked if they didn’t win a national title in the next couple years,” Nierman said.

Helmer summed up the magnitude of Nierman’s four-year career at IU.

“The impressive thing about Robby is that when he transferred here, he was the guy at the end of the line,” he said. “He was the last guy, and he was the last guy that I would have figured to ultimately run the way he’s
running.”