So many races, so many memories. Three Olympics. Fast times, good times, disappointing times. Top 15 marathon finishes from New York to Chicago to London. Miles upon miles of training over 25 years, from the mountains of Burundi as a teen to the mountains of Flagstaff as an adult.
It all will end in less than three weeks when Diane Nukuri concludes her professional running career at the Chicago Marathon, site of her first marathon years ago. There is much running-wise for Nukuri, who’ll turn 40 in December, to reflect upon as she steps aside.
But, frankly, what she’ll remember most is not race results, PRs and accolades, prize money and shoe deals, and certainly not the grind of putting in 100-mile weeks on the roads. Rather, it’s the little things, the human moments, the people she’s met and experiences she’s savored along the way.
What might seem ephemeral, brief interactions or chance encounters, is what lingers.
Like, the gang at Rosie O’Grady’s, an Irish bar in New York City’s Times Square, run by an affable manager named Diego.
Nukuri, a Flagstaff resident since 2014, flashes her thousand-watt smile and explains.
“In New York, my first race was 2009, and for a really long time I used to do the mini 10k, the half, the full (marathon) from, like 2009 to 2018. I can’t count how many times I ran in New York. And there’s this place called Rosie’s; it’s an Irish bar. A lot of times we stayed at the Hilton, only block or two away. There’s this manager, Diego. I remember every single year, every race, I’d always go to Rosie’s for either dinner before the race or go have drinks (afterward). After a while, he knew me and all my friends to the point where, whenever we’d walk in, we’d know every single person who works there. They were all recreational runners. And we’d talk, and it was really cool. We’re still friends on social media.
“That’s what I mean. It’s the experience, the friends, the food, the warmup, the cooldown – not necessarily the races. I mean, the races were great, but it’s the friendships. Of course, running is important because that’s how I got to meet these people. You don’t forget these experiences.”
Results, of course, matter greatly in pro running, and Nukuri’s resume is dotted with impressive accomplishments, especially during her prime years (2011 to 2017).
She represented Burundi in the 2000 Olympics in the 5,000 meters at age 15, then after seeking asylum in Canada and later attending college at the University of Iowa, she ran the Olympic marathon in London in 2012 and the 10,000 meters at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Coming into her own as a marathoner, Nukuri placed fourth in New York City in 2016, ninth in New York in 2017 and ninth in Boston in 2017.
More recently, Nukuri’s performance has fallen off, but she’s stayed competitive enough that she’s remained among the elites on the road-racing circuit.
But her Rosie’s recollection speaks volumes about what Nukuri values most, how she’s been able to nurture a flourishing running career while keeping a healthy balance and perspective on life rather than embrace the grind mentality that many elites feel is necessary for success.
That’s not to say Nukuri hasn’t been dedicated to her sport. You don’t put up results like hers without putting in the work. But, all along, Nukuri did not obsess. She has never dwelled on, for instance, hitting time splits and checking rivals’ Strava accounts. She likes to occasionally trade her super shoes for hiking boots and hit the trails, or get dressed up and hit the dance floor.
She’d rather run 70 miles per week, as opposed to 100, and lead a full life.
And there’s this: she feels no existential angst about impending retirement, none of that what-do-I-do-now fretting. Nukuri seems ready to move on and, in fact, already has post-running life up and, well, running. She’s had a real estate license for several years and plans to ramp that up in Flagstaff, and she’s also signed with a Phoenix modeling agency.
First, though, she’s going to take six months starting in November to travel to her family’s village in Burundi, where her running journey began and led her to discover the wider world and escape the country’s civil war during that period.
So, it’ll be a full-circle moment, returning to her mother, Calinie, who is still running the farm she tended when Diane was young. Actually, the past few months, as she planned, have had a certain symmetry for Nukuri.
Chicago was her first marathon back in 2010, and it’ll be her last on Oct. 13. And she’ll be paced in the race by the first friend she made in Flagstaff, former NAU runner and now masters elite Chris Gomez. And lining the streets of Chicago will be Nukuri’s friends from Flagstaff and as far back as her college years in Iowa.
“I don’t try to make this cheesy,” she said, laughing, “but I’m thinking this is a good way to end it. … I already feel emotional now. I’ll go on a run and think, I don’t want to cry. But happy tears, you know. So many people have asked me, do you think you’re going to miss it? Will you be sad? I think, absolutely not.
“I’ve heard stories from people saying, ‘Oh, I wish I could be able to do what I used to do.’ I’m like, no! (In retirement) I want to enjoy eight minute pace runs, seven minutes, and if I feel great, six minutes. But I’m not going to try to hit certain times anymore.”
Such perspective has served Nukuri well. Sure, perhaps if she’d had a single-minded, hyper-focused attention to running, at the expense of other aspects of her life, she may have placed higher in some races.
Maybe, maybe not. It doesn’t matter, however. She knows she made the right choices.
“I enjoy life, I enjoy running, I enjoy friendships,” Nukuri said. “At 14, if you’d told me I’d be what I am today, I’d tell you that you were crazy. There were no dreams like, ‘I’m going to be this, be that.’ I just went with whatever. I was good at running and I followed it. This sounds crazy, I wouldn’t change anything. I’ve enjoyed it all. If anything, I’ve had too much fun. You’ve got to enjoy life, man. You never know when it’s going to be over.”
Nukuri doesn’t like to dwell on her upbringing, the civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups that tore Burundi apart in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “I try to stay away from politics,” she said. But perhaps the tumultuous times growing up helped shaped Nukuri’s perspective on life, even if indirectly.
Boiled to its essence, Nukuri’s attitude is all about gratitude and acceptance.
“For me,” she said, “there’s no point in stressing or being uptight and being intense. Everything that’s happening, or has happened, is going to happen. For me, this (career) has been a bonus. Some people put pressure on themselves because, you know, their parents, or coaches. No one has ever said to me, ‘You have to run this time.’ My shoe company (Asics) never pressured me. My manager was super supportive. He reminds me where I came from and reminds me not to put pressure on myself.
“Every race I’ve run, I’ve always tried to go to the races where I felt wanted, loved. These last few years, when I haven’t been running well, it is what it is, if you (race director) don’t want me, I don’t want to come. I lot of people feel pressure to prove something. I don’t feel I need to prove anything. I’ve already had such a beautiful life I never dreamed of.”
“For me, there’s no point in stressing or being uptight and being intense. Everything that’s happening, or has happened, is going to happen. For me, this (career) has been a bonus.”
Diane Nukuri
There have been countless cases, almost to the point of cliché, of pro athletes, including runners, who have trouble letting go, knowing when it’s time to retire. They either hold on too long, or quit and then make ill-advised comebacks, tarnishing legacies.
Not so with Nukuri. She started thinking about retirement during the Covid days, when she started studying for her real estate license. She calls a real estate career a nice challenge, if not her passion. She also has started dabbling in modeling, first doing photo shoots over the years for Asics and now joining a modeling agency.
Before fully plunging herself into her new life – she owns a home in Flagstaff and has plans to stay here in retirement – Nukuri will decompress by returning to Burundi. A few of her siblings and extended family live abroad, in the U.S. and Canada, but her mother and many others are in her home village.
“I haven’t seen them as often as I’d like,” she said. “Last year, I was there for two months, and that was my first time in five or six years visiting. In the last 24 years, I’ve only been home four or five times. I’m open to see what happens when I go there. I just want to take the next six months to enjoy myself. I think about 25 years of running and, yes, I’ve loved it, but it’s a grind.”
Nukuri said she looks forward to spending time with her mother, who initially was skeptical of letting Diane leave home as a teenager to live in Canada and pursue a pro career.
“My mom raised eight kids (by herself),” she said. “Maybe that’s where I get my personality, how to treat people, how to have integrity. It’s about gratitude and being mature. Since I was very young, I’ve always been confident. My mom raised us that way, to be confident but respectful. As I’ve gotten older, even with her not around, I can hear her voice, like, when I think about doing something stupid, she’s saying, ‘No, you can’t do that.’
“But maybe part of my personality also may come from my dad. I heard that he was very laid back, the life of the party sometimes. And that’s me, too.”
There actually was a brief period when Nukuri tried to be a Type-A pro runner. It was just after completing college in Iowa. She hit training hard and was consumed in the life of running.
“But I soon discovered that wasn’t me,” she said. “I listened to my instincts. Sometimes, I look (at my pro running friends) and say, ‘You are crazy giving up so much.’ For my mental health, I just want to enjoy it. And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll move on and do something different.”
There’s still one more race before that “something different” fully kicks in, and Nukuri said she’s going to give it her all to show appreciation for the Chicago race organizers who supported over the years and for Asics, her sponsor.
But …
“My goal for Chicago is to really just enjoy the weekend,” Nukuri said. “Fingers, crossed, I’ll get there healthy and I run and enjoy every single mile, be mindful and be grateful.”
And, afterward, maybe find a friendly Irish bar at which to celebrate.
Note: Cover photos by Chase Fleming
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