Idaho Prep Standout Set To Chase Sub-Four Mile At Brooks PR Invitational on Friday, The Outdoor Nationals on Saturday

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Nathan Green embodies the heart of a Lion. 

Described as a fierce and fast runner, when Green toes the startline, his blue eyes ablaze with focus, his competitors stand no chance of survival.  

“He's just got a ferocious competitiveness about him,” Borah High coach Tim Severa said.  

It was just a couple years ago when Green collapsed during a cross country race in Idaho and was carted off in an ambulance to the local hospital. He had an early repolarization, which is directly linked with sudden cardiac death. 

That Lion heart had almost failed him. But it didn’t. Green’s strength and cardivascular fitness gave him a second chance and newfound respect for the sport and life. 

WATCH THE BROOKS PR INVITATIONAL LIVE ON FRIDAY

“After it was almost taken away from me, I just decided to put one foot in front of the other every day and treat it like I'm not going to get a chance to put on my shoes,” said Green. “It's made me a lot less nervous for racing and it’s really helped me develop over the past year in terms of training because I've been excited to get out there and wanted it a lot more.”

It’s fitting that Green’s home for the past four years was Borah High in Boise, Idaho, where the school’s mascot is the Lion. Green possesses many of those associated attributes: Passion. Determination. Courage. This past spring, he quietly put together one of the most dominant prep seasons in the nation as a distance runner. On June 4 he clocked a nation-leading 4:00.97 full mile. 

“He’s not afraid to hurt,” said Boise High’s track and cross country coach Aaron Olswanger, who has coached against Green and seen his development the past four years. “He’s a kid who I watch in awe and know he's hurting out there, but he's not afraid to push through it. He has a mission.” 

That mission will reach a conclusion this weekend with more attempts at something special. Green is set to compete in the boys mile at the Brooks PR Invitational on July 2 at Renton Memorial Stadium outside Seattle. The next day he’ll head to the The Outdoor Nationals presented by Nike, in Eugene, Ore., where he’s scheduled to compete in the mile again. 

WATCH THE OUTDOOR NATIONALS, PRESENTED BY NIKE (June 30-July 3)

“I’ve been really consistent with running really fast times by myself,” Green said. “I’m very confident in my ability to run very fast and I'm very confident I can do some really great things on the track in my final two races.” 

A love of running 

A football player first, Green’s relationship with running didn’t begin until high school. As an eighth grader  Green ran a 4:43 mile, but it took some persuading from friend and later teammate, Zach Garey, into utilizing his speed for the cross country team at Borah. 

“He kind of came our way, and we were pretty lucky,” Severa said. 

Green’s running talents didn’t start to fully blossom until the spring, as he dealt with some early injuries. He finished the 2018 track season with the 5A 1,600 meters state title (4:22.18) and placed second in the 3,200 (9:20.11). 

“I just continued to train hard (freshman year) and work with coach Tim,” Green said. “The passion was there. Zach Garey made it fun and made me fall in love with running.”

Severa, who said Green could have been a sprinter with his speed, saw an unmatched inner fire and an individual that hates to lose.  

“He kind of has the Prefontaine desire,” Severa said.  “He seems to find a gear deep down.”

Life lessons

Green’s appearance at Brooks this Friday will be his first since he was invited as a sophomore in 2019. Severa said that is the only race he’s seen Green not have a spectacular finish. One of the youngest in the field, Green was boxed in and had to avoid a massive pileup that took down a few runners midway through the mile. Green took the lead and started his kick with about 600 meters to go and was eventually passed down the straightaway, finishing in sixth in 4:06.20. 

“He was young, but he learned a lot from that meet,” Severa said. “He doesn’t like to lose.”

The fall of his junior year, Green was dealt with another life lesson. He was diagnosed with a heart murmur after he felt some tightness in the chest at the start of the season. Doctors advised him to slow down. The prestigious Bob Firman Invitational in late September was the place he collapsed. Green said he had consulted with some doctors before the race and knew there was risk, but didn’t fully comprehend what could actually happen. 

“I obviously ignored them, I didn't really understand the magnitude of what I was getting myself into,” Green said. “But when I was on that table and when I was getting carted out to St. Luke’s (Hospital) it kind of hit me, I’m not invincible. I’m not always going to be able to bounce back. I did this time and I’m very thankful. It was impossible to wrap my head around until after I had completely recovered and was back to where I was before Bob Firman.”

Green was able to recover and he wore a heart monitor at the state meet, which he won and later qualified for Nike Cross Nationals, where he placed 11th. 

With a junior track season nonexistent due to the pandemic, Green, like many other high school runners, was stuck in a holding pattern. Severa said Green kept up his training, perhaps going harder than ever. Green said the pandemic provided an opportunity to take a step back from the national spotlight and just focus on what the sport of running has to offer.  

“Not having any hype around my name, having to prove something, that really helped my development,” he said. 

A meaningful season

Green isn’t afraid to express his pride. His tone shifts when he talks about how much talent comes from the Gem State and how impactful that has been on his young running career. 

“I think a lot of my determination comes from wanting to excel for the sport,” Green said. “I mean Idaho is really slept on as a state, and we really shouldn’t be. I think this season was more for Idaho and the amazing runners that are here more than anything.”

Severa had a hand in coaching Michael Slagowski, who was the first Idaho prep runner to break four minutes in the mile in April of 2016. Severa said he learned a lot from Slagowski and the experience informed some of his training methods, like incorporating more speed-oriented workouts, that have benefited Green’s development. 

“I’ve never had a coach quite like Tim, who understands everything they are doing and has a vision beyond just the season that you’re running,” Green said. “It’s hard to explain what it's like to be coached by Tim unless you've been coached by him.”

Severa and Green have in been the pursuit of a sub 4-minute mile since sophomore year. The past couple of months, Green pushed himself to new limits, running anything from the 200 to the 2-mile and the steeplechase. At the state meet in May, he cruised to the 5A 3,200 title in 8:53.47 and claimed his third 1,600 title in 4:07.50, shattering the Idaho state meet records of 9:00.73 and 4:09.04 by Pocatello's Elijah Armstrong. 

That vision of breaking four just about became a reality on June 4 at the YMCA Invitational. In front of maybe a crowd of 15 people at a local high school, Green ran a US#1 mile time of 4:00.97. He had two teammates pacing him and came through the 800 in 2:03. Severa said he knew Green was behind the clock but it was a great attempt.  

“The last couple years he (Green) really hasn’t been pushed in Idaho and he hasn’t seen competition in a long time,” Olswanger said. “For him to be running essentially a four-flat true mile by himself, is pretty remarkable. I expect him to explode when there’s actually competition, I think he’s one of the biggest sleepers in the country right now.”

Green, who will attend the University of Washington this fall, will get that competition this Friday at Brooks when he competes in his future home state. Gary Martin of Archbishop Wood PA, who ran a personal-best and state record time of 4:03.53 on June 4, as well as Colorado’s Harrison Witt, who has the US#1 800 time of 1:48.50, will be two guys that should help push a record-breaking pace. 

“I’m pretty confident that with even one more guy in the race, I'm going to do something that I didn't accomplish this year with limited competition,” Green said. 

A kid at heart

While running has developed into one of Green’s serious passions, he tends not to take life too seriously. Born in Montana, he lived in Seattle before making Idaho his home. Green enjoys the Idaho lifestyle. 

“I go fishing pretty regularly. I eat a lot of Red Robin,” he said with a laugh. “I’m pretty competitive and play a lot of spikeball.”

Added Severa: “He loves country music (his favorite artist right now is Cody Johnson). He’s just one of those kids you don’t realize is so serious about running. He’s just a happy go-lucky kid.” 

Friday, Green and his Lion heart are looking to put it all on the line and see what will happen.

“You see a big seriously scary runner but really I’m not,” Green said. "I don’t think that I am. I’m just a goofy guy, pretty outgoing, until it comes to racing on the track.”