Nickademus de la Rosa

HIGHLIGHTS: Badwater 135 (youngest finisher at 19)/Spartan Death Race, VT, 6th place/HURT 100, 3rd place/Barkley Marathons, 1st place and 13th finisher in the race’s 25+yr history/Fuego y Agua 100km, 1st Place/Italy’s Tor des Geants, 2nd Place/Canada’s Fat Dog 120 Miler, 1st Place/CR Orca 100, 1st Place

Nickademus, or Nick, ran his first marathon at the age of 15. Overcome by low self-esteem and a need to stand out from his peers, he pursued ultra-running and at the age of 19, became the world's youngest Badwater 135 mile foot-race finisher.

Nick continued to make a name for himself in the ultra-running world with age records and eventual wins. Most notable in his career was in 2013, where Nick not only finished but won the infamous Barkley Marathons, making him one of only 15 finishers in the event's history. Nick began coaching in 2015, originally leading San Diego-based bootcamps and training groups for local trail races. His fascination for gait and movement analysis began in early 2016 when a persistent knee injury put him on the sidelines. He studied under Richard Diaz (founder of Natural Running Network) and took to self-studying the methods of Jay Dicharry DPT, Joe Uhan DPT and Katie Bownman MS.

He's since been actively applying and coaching posture and running mechanics for the last five years virtually and in-person. In 2018, open heart surgery for an aortic aneurysm halted Nick's professional career. The ensuing struggle, depression and anxiety he experienced firsthand revealed an unhealthy and codependent relationship he'd developed with running over the years. The loss of this professional identity has been intense, but a gift to share with athletes who have gone through or are anticipating big large changes.

Coaching with Nick is a blend of movement and psychological analysis. He likes to move beyond the standard framework of prescribed mileage and lifts. If comfortable, you'll discuss and work together through topics such as: why do you run in the first place? How do you cope with failure? What are your movements and posture like the other 24 hours of the day when you're not training?

In addition to Nick's 15yrs+ in the endurance world, he holds a CSCS, ACE and a level 1 Running Analysis from Run DNA.

Nickademus is delighted to work with just about anyone—in particular, folks who have never maintained a schedule or worked out consistently before. If he can really connect with someone new to the sport and slowly nurture habit and joy in a sport (such as running) he finds it incredibly rewarding. He finds working with the psychology and barriers to habit development whether that's better posture, running consistently or even improving your positive self-talk during workouts one of the most rewarding elements of coaching. 

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