Thomas Nobbs has been surrounded by the running community since childhood. Now a passionate athlete and coach, Thomas is steadily working toward his goal of going sub-2:13 in the marathon and earning a spot at the 2028 Olympics. Learning the science behind fueling and recovery has made his training more sustainable and transformed his relationship with nutrition.

We recently caught up with Thomas to talk about his training approach, how he got into running, and how he’s giving back to the community as a coach. Here’s what Thomas had to say:

 

How did you get into running, and what attracted you to it initially?

It’s kind of funny because I specialized really young, which was maybe not ideal if I was to redesign Thomas as he was. There’s a lot of research now around health and injuries as an outcome of specializing in one sport from a really young age.

My parents were very hands-off—they didn’t push me into running but were supportive when I showed interest. For context, my mom and dad have both run their entire lives. My dad was elite in middle-distance events in Australia and later joined as a co-owner of The Runinn, a running store in Vancouver. Growing up around that environment, I was always around running and track, whether it was in the store or appearing in sneaker ads. So, there was influence there, but I kind of just did it because my friends were doing it.

My first race was the worst experience ever. I got a participation ribbon and felt terrible about it. But I waited a whole year, came back in grade one, and did a lot better.

What has been your proudest moment as a runner?

It’s hard to define one single moment, but I think anytime you get to share the experience with teammates and family, that’s big. Running can be so individual, but celebrating with others makes it special.

One moment that stands out is from 2021 during my fifth year at UBC. After a pretty rocky college career with injuries and inconsistent coaching, I had an incredible season. At the Canada West Championships, everything just clicked. I won the race, but my first thought crossing the finish line was, “Where are the boys finishing?” Seeing my teammates come in and losing my voice cheering for them was just this insane high.

 

Who has been the biggest influence on your athletic career?

A few people stand out. Number one is my dad—he’d take me on little runs as a kid and make them fun by timing me on playground obstacle courses. Then in elementary school and high school, he was the one who always made sure I got to practices. Equally as much, my mom has picked me up from set backs and the hard moments more time than I can count, and I owe so much to both of them for helping me stay in the sport through all the highs and lows.

In high school, my coaches Besnik and Tatiana Mece treated me like a pro athlete from a young age. It was both a blessing and a curse, but the amount they invested in showing me the ropes and developing me as an athlete was huge. More recently, my coach Brant Stachel has helped me develop so much as an athlete short term and with a long term vision. I owe a lot to Brant—not just as a coach, but as a mentor and someone I can talk to about random life stress. I think everyone should have someone like that in their life. Each of those figures has played a huge role, for sure.

 

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in running, and how did you overcome it?

When you see talent from a young age, you develop this performance-oriented identity. In elementary school, everyone was like, “That’s the running kid,” and then in high school, it was the same. It took a long time to figure out who I am outside of that.

Being “the running kid” in school created a lot of pressure and a performance-oriented identity. If you’re known for running and you get injured, it’s like, “What’s the meaning of my life? I’m wearing this little pool belt and look like I’m in an Aquafit class—how am I ever going to get back to where I was in terms of fitness?” I’ve had so many different injuries and stress fractures over the years. Then you overtrain, change how you eat, or say no to hanging out with friends when you should just focus on being a kid. 

 

What does a typical training week look like for you now?

It's mostly just me, listening to podcasts, and exploring around Ottawa, but my training is very structured. Most days, it’s running twice a day. Some days usually include a medium-long run, and two or three days a week are workout days, and maybe a double.

I’ve been going by time for quite a while—most days are around 100 minutes to two hours of training. During marathon training, one day a week would get close to three hours. So, it’s two workouts a week, a bunch of easy running in between, and a Sunday long run.

I also try to fit training around work and other responsibilities, because I do work as well. I hope people out there know that people trying to go pro—or even those who are already pro—typically work full-time jobs.

 

How important is nutrition and supplementation in your training?

Supplements like protein, electrolytes, and nitrates have been game-changers for me. My coach once told me that the most sizeable gains in running performance will come from advancements in fueling and sports science, and I’ve found that to be true.

Over the years, I’ve tried to find balance. I used to be super OCD as a kid, then went through this perfectionist mindset where everything had to be 100% natural, couldn’t come from packaging, and had to include a specific amount of greens on my plate.

I think that the biggest thing is if I learned the science behind why I should recover or fuel in a certain way, I couldn’t argue with it. Number one for myself now is going by feel. When the body is craving something, you definitely need it, and knowing when to fuel—fueling during long runs, and afterward hitting the 30 minute recovery window with protein and carbs.

I think most of my injuries started to disappear when I really began thinking about how much protein I was getting in a day. I once put cooked eggs in a flask to eat after practice and thought, “There’s got to be a better way to do this.” Having protein that’s minimally processed, easy to pack, and readily available—like Blonyx Egg White Protein Isolate—has been great.

I also love heat training, and electrolyte supplementation helps a lot with that. Another huge one for me is nitrate supplementation. I haven’t always had the most reliable source in the past, but when I use it, I feel a huge difference in being able to push to my absolute max and recover faster. It’s a really natural option for me.

I’m not a fan of BCAAs since I’m not trying to bulk up, but I’ve used beta-alanine during specific training blocks to build a buffer to lactic acid. 

What mindset do you think is key to success in running?

Your mind is the limiting factor when it comes to how much you can push in a race. When your heart rate is through the roof, it’s about mentally relaxing and telling yourself, “You’re okay.” So, I think it’s knowing that you can always do more.

At the same time, I’ve learned that less is sometimes more. I was always the kid who, if you said do 10 push-ups, would do 15; if you said do two sets, I’d do four. But making training sustainable is probably something that should be branded on my forehead for life.

One mantra that sticks with me is something my dad always says: “How hard is hard?” It doesn’t make perfect sense grammatically, but it’s like saying, “How hard could it be?” and getting to the start line with the mindset that today’s effort matters most.

 

What’s something you wish more people understood about running?

You don’t have to run a marathon to call yourself a runner. There are so many levels to running and so much you can get out of it. It doesn’t have to be expensive or tied to big races. It’s more about the act of getting out there than having the perfect shoes, being part of a run club, or running the New York Marathon and all that stuff. You can just do it as long as you get out the door.

Also, performance isn’t tied to your weight or how you look. I think that’s a huge misconception. The global running community is doing a great job shifting that narrative, but it’s still a bit misconstrued.

 

Beyond training and competing, how else are you involved in the sport and the running community?

I’ve been fortunate to coach and mentor athletes of all levels.

On the West Coast, I coached high school and elementary school athletes as part of the Thunderbird Track Club. I also helped with outreach programs at schools that didn’t have a run club, giving kids the opportunity to try track and field.

Now, I coach and mentor a number of athletes and am part of a couple of local run clubs. I’ve also been lucky to be part of Team RunRun for just over a year. They do a great job of giving exposure to coaches—you can easily find a run coach in your city—and they've built an international community that makes coaching accessible. They also host tons of community meetups internationally and educational events, like sessions on how to fuel and why fueling is important. They’re really working to make running as easy and accessible as possible for everyone.

 

What is one piece of advice that you give to someone looking to excel as a runner?

It takes time and everyone is on their own adventure in running. Not everyone improves at the same pace, and no one’s training is exactly the same. I’ve had a couple of young guys tell me they copy my Strava workouts, and I always say, “Don’t try this at home. This is a bad idea.”

You will see progress but you just have to go a little bit out of your comfort zone, season by season, but also to focus on staying healthy. That’s how you’ll see the biggest gains in the long term and enjoy the process the most. No one likes being injured, and if you can’t go for a run without your knee literally exploding, you’re not going to have much fun.

So, yes, stay in it for the long game. Figure out your own path, but don’t be afraid to leverage the knowledge of others too.

 

What are your long-term goals as an athlete, and what steps are you taking to actually get there and achieve them?

I usually think in short-term blocks and I have a very short term memory when it comes to running—I’ll have a brutal workout or long run, and by the next day, I’m already planning two runs because I’ve forgotten about yesterday.

Right now, the Houston Half Marathon is a pretty key event for me. I’m definitely trying to chase a PB and potentially qualify for the World Road Running Championships in 2025.

In the marathon, if I can chip away 90 seconds to two minutes per year, I’d seriously look at qualifying for the LA 2028 Olympics. Beyond my own racing, I’d love to coach more athletes and hear their stories—why they got into the sport, what motivates them. The athletes I coach inspire me, so if I can invest more in that or make more connections in the running community, that would be very cool. There are only so many hours in a day I can run, so I’d like to give back to others in the sport.

What’s next for you as a runner?

I’m almost past the comedown of my last marathon, and it feels like for runners there are certain barriers—like breaking 2:16—that make people take notice. Running 2:15 was pretty huge, and now I’m just trying to reset from that.

I also want to do more races back in my home city, Vancouver. The Sun Run would be huge—it’s not the fastest course, but it has good competition and can sometimes be a pretty fast race. Mostly, I just love racing in front of my friends and alongside them. I’m trying to chip down my times as much as possible. Maybe next year, I’ll aim for sub-2:13 or sub-2:12. If Chicago lets me in, that’d be really cool.

Right now, I’m trying to do things I have a lot of fun doing where if my running career were to end tomorrow, I’d feel like, “Yeah, that was pretty sick—that was a good ride.” But I’ve also told myself, maybe in 2026, I’m going all in on this running thing for a couple of years—putting 110% into it and seeing where I can go. Who knows what that’ll look like financially, but it’s something I'd love to try.

You can connect with Thomas on Strava, and join the Team RunRun community for coaching and support. 

 

That’s all for this week! If you enjoyed reading Thomas' story, head over to the Blonyx Blog for more stories of athletic ambition.

– Train hard!

 

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