FANS:

I am going to do my best to tell you what I think is the single most inspiring story in HOKA NAZ Elite history–that of Tyler Day and his return to racing after nearly four years of surgeries, frustration, depression, and redemption. 

During Tyler’s last season at Northern Arizona University, in the winter of 2020, he put his stamp on what was already one of the best careers in the history of an all-time great program. Over a two-month span he set personal bests at 3,000 meters (7:45.70) and 5,000 meters (13:16.95), helped NAU win the Big Sky Conference title by running a leg on the DMR, and was a favorite to win the national title at 5,000 meters when everything came to a screeching halt with the cancellation of the NCAA Indoor Championships due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. 

That 13:16 for 5,000 meters was, at the time, the fastest ever by an American collegian indoors. He had also been part of three NCAA team titles for NAU in cross country with individual finishes of 23rd (2016), 3rd (2017), and 6th (2018). All of these accolades made him a prime target for all of the professional teams in the U.S. Fortunately for us, Tyler chose to join HOKA NAZ Elite in the summer of 2020 and we were off and running. 

That fall I had the pleasure of coaching Tyler and was able to witness, first-hand, what made him so great. He is certainly an aerobic machine…able to handle altitude as well as anyone I’ve ever seen who was born at sea level. But what I saw more than anything was his incredibly high tolerance for pain. We’ve had some athletes that can “go to the well” as a I often say. But I am here to tell you that no one can go deeper than Tyler.

In that strange, pandemic-affected season we were only able to race a couple of times. His first race in the NAZ kit was an Ekiden Relay in Michigan, hosted by the Hansons Brooks Distance Project. Tyler ran our leadoff leg (a 10k) and blitzed the field, pulling away from some really good guys to give us a 12-second lead (we’d go on to win by the way). A week later, still in Michigan, he finished a close third in 1:02:17 for a half marathon. 

We came back to Flagstaff and after a few easy days got back to work, preparing for a 10,000 meter race on the track where Tyler would be trying to get the Olympic Standard and set himself up for a shot to represent Team USA in Tokyo. It sure seemed like that’s where things were headed. During the month leading up to that 10,000 I saw him do some of the best workouts in the history of our team to that point. None was more impressive than a session we did in Camp Verde, AZ on November 19th where he ran 12 x 1k in 2:58 with 1-minute rest between each rep, then took 5 minutes rest after number 12 before running a fast 5k. He ran the 5k in 14:01. He was ready for that 10,000.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Four miles into the race, Tyler felt a sharp pain in his ankle and was forced to step off the track. The athlete who can take more pain than anyone, had met his match. We later learned that the pain was a full tear of his achilles tendon. The next three-plus years were full of a whole lot more pain–physical and emotional (probably more of the latter). Tyler himself describes much of it in THIS ARTICLE from Sam McManis of the Flagstaff Running News. 

And here we are, nearly 44 months after that fateful day in December of 2020 and this guy is back. Somehow, he is back. Turns out Tyler’s tolerance for pain goes way beyond the field of play. I cannot wait to see what he does tomorrow at Buffalo Park–the very place he sharpened his skills during his five years at NAU. The place he’s been re-discovering his love and passion for training these last several weeks. There’s sort of a poetic nature about where this blue-collar runner will make return. It’s not a national championship, or a fancy race with tons of pomp and circumstance. It’s a cross country meet. In his home State. In front of his family, and his best friends, and his teammates, and all of the people that have supported him these last four years. 

Flagstaff: Tyler is one of you. He’s one of us. Let’s all get out to Buffalo Park tomorrow and cheer like crazy for him. 

See you there. 

Ben Rosario
Founder/Executive Director
HOKA NAZ Elite