Hearing Your Stories: Thu Nguyen

'Choosing to run slower for me has meant choosing joy'

May 21, 2026

Evening, friends! 🌜

I know it’s late so I won’t dawdle, but I’m really excited for you to meet Thu Nguyen, who reached out when I asked you to share your stories last month. She had just one condition: “If you really promise that excitement is not the required vibe from a running story, I’m happy to answer some questions.”

On the contrary, I found Thu’s story inspiring and a reflection of the poet she has become — she notices every small detail, and fully experiences every moment she spends running in a way that’s, dare I say, poetic.

I found so much to love and relate to in her story, and I know you will too. As always, keep in touch and let me know how your running/life is going. — Terrell

So, let’s hear a little bit about you! Who are you, your age (if you’d like to share), where you’re from, what you do, etc.

My name is Thu Nguyen, and I am a 46-year-old woman who has lived around the Washington, D.C., area for more than half her life now. I first moved here after graduate school to teach, and I did that for about 15 years before I set off on my own to write (I am a poet) and paint full time.

What does your running routine look like? How many times a week, and how far do you run?

My running routine is really dependent on if I am training for a race. Ideally, I like to do one “big” race a year. I just ran the Eugene Half Marathon at the end of April, and it was the first time I trained for a spring race.

Winter race training is no joke! This winter was particularly difficult because the roads were so icy for so long. I ran twice a week on my treadmill, and did my long run outside. I used to run 4 to 5 times a week when I was training for races, but that kind of mileage ended up injuring me a couple of times.

For the past two race cycles, I’ve only run three times a week (one with hill intervals, one tempo, and one long). That kind of running seems to be my sweet spot.

When I’m not training for a race, I typically go out for a few miles, 2 to 3 times a week. I still try to go for an hour or so outside once a week just to stay in the habit.

All the flowers are in bloom where I am, and I am so grateful that I get to see this season as I run. Yesterday on the trail, I saw the fattest, happiest groundhog. That felt like a boon.

Were you an athletic kid growing up? What are your early memories of what fitness and health were about?

I was not athletic as a kid if you think of athletics as team sports. My family and I were all immigrants who owned restaurants, so I spent every day after school and every weekend at work with my family.

But if you count roaming neighborhoods by foot and bike for hours at a time, then I was definitely athletic. I also played a lot of tennis in high school because my boyfriend played tennis.

I guess my athleticism was based on friends and being outdoors, which honestly, I think suited me best.

How did you first get into running? Was there something that inspired you — like a performance at the Olympics, for example, or a runner you discovered by watching them on social media or TV? Or was there someone in your own life who inspired you to think, ‘maybe I can do this?’

The very first time I ran was when I joined my local shoe store’s Couch to 5K program. I was lonely because I had just moved into a new neighborhood, and I thought it would be a great way to make friends — and it was!

I have since recommended programs like that to people interested in getting into running. So low-key, and mostly just walking to begin with. The program also helped me get to know the local running routes.

I think I am glad I wasn’t trying to run a super long distance, or live up to a running idol when I began. I was just impressed that I could run at all.

I started running again after I had my two boys, one right after the other, and my goal was really different the second time around. I had postpartum depression, and nothing made me feel as alive as running did.

Those long runs made me feel so capable and strong. That was when I first started training for longer races. I needed bigger goals to look forward to.

How has your interest in running evolved since then? Do you run farther, or faster now?

I was actually just telling a friend that I ran this year’s half marathon slower than the last one I ran, and it was remarkable. Choosing to run slower for me has meant choosing joy.

The reason I ran faster than I probably should have a couple of years ago was because it was freezing out, crowded, and everything was so chaotic that I just wanted to get it over with. Last month in Eugene could not have been more the opposite.

I met the loveliest pacer, and we chatted on and off for most of the race. At mile 10, she looked at me, and said, “if I have been doing my job, you should feel great now, and really go for it.” She gave me the confidence to leave her, and I felt the best I have ever felt completing a race.

You could say the last three miles were negative splits, but I remember them more as joyful. At Eugene, you end the race inside Hayward Field, and the entire stadium is filled with people cheering on runners.

I know they weren’t all there for me specifically, but it felt so much like they were that I got emotional at the end. This was my year coming back from injury, and I was grateful for every single step that I ran.

My main goal for Eugene actually had to do with what was going to happen afterwards. I wanted to run a race with enough ease that I could hang out with my friends afterwards. I remember other years and races when I would finish, and not be able to walk anywhere.

One year I immediately got sick afterwards because I had put my body through so much. After Eugene, my dear friends (who I never get to see) picked me up, and we walked around town. I spent the rest of the afternoon soaking in the sun with them, took a nap in a hammock, and had energy enough to go out to dinner to celebrate. That, to me, is the perfect race day.

What do you balance your running with? Do you have a family to take care of? Kids, parents or other relatives or loved ones? If so, how do you balance all of it and still make time to run/care for yourself?

I’m not sure about balance, but I have worked out a schedule where I take one of my boys (15) to the bus stop, and then run on the treadmill, and then take the second one (14) to the bus stop.

It’s tight, but probably best for me to keep my running in check. I would — and have in the past — overdo it otherwise. My injuries have always been from too much mileage, so the boundaries of a busy workweek help a lot.

The boys come to my races if they are in town. In Philly they met me a few miles in so I could throw my outer layers at them. When I ran Eugene, they tracked me by my bib number and congratulated me by text. Most importantly, they know that I feel so much happier if I have run.

Weekends when I come back from long runs, we eat big breakfasts and relax together. I know I am so privileged to be able to fit running into my life. I work for myself now, and mostly from home, so if I need to move a run to a different time, I can do that.

I do travel for work at times, so finding time to run is hard, but the challenge has been rewarding too. I was in Paris during my race training this year, and I got to see parts of the city I have never seen before because I needed to run while I was there.

I also just happened to run my fastest 5K of the season while I was there, and I think it was because there is nothing like the Jardin de Tuilleries first thing at the break of dawn.

Is there anything you’re especially proud of that you can point to your running and say, ‘this helped me achieve ______’?

I think as I’ve gotten older, I have had to be so much more flexible with my expectations, and with allowing myself to pivot when I need to. When I am injured, I take time off. I do physical therapy. I cross-train. I go to bed so early so that I can get up early.

And I am still a deeply curious person, so this year I decided to see what finding gels that I could actually swallow would do for my long runs. And now there are so many more choices than even just a few years ago!

It’s so boring and true that sleep and fuel will get you so far. I’ve learned that I can be really good to myself, and it pays off.

What have you learned about yourself from your running journey? Is there anything that’s changed about you since you started?

I’ve learned that people run for all kinds of reasons, but I run for my mental health. I run to be outside. Everything else is nice to have: good gear, good company, etc., but I don’t need anything except that time alone.

I’ve learned that it’s okay to do things seasonally. I can still call myself a runner even in the summer when I refuse to run in the 90-plus degree heat of D.C. I used to have such strict ideas about what made someone an athlete or a runner, and now I know that it’s more about a mindset than anything else. Every time I see someone running on the roads as I drive by, I am clapping for them in my head. I cheer for everyone.

A couple of years ago, I signed up for a running retreat in Alaska. I didn’t know anyone on the retreat, but I wanted to see Alaska, and I wanted to do some trail running. Our group ran and walked at such a diverse range of paces, and it was the first time I really gave myself permission to not go all out every time.

I ran a 10K, and then the next day I felt like I wanted to walk to the glacier lake instead of running it. The person I was with felt like she wanted to run. We high-fived, and then went at our own paces. On the way back from the lake, I felt like running, so I caught up with another couple in our group.

I loved getting to know them through this run. I learned that I can really listen to what I want and need in the moment, and that giving it to myself is the right thing to do.

Where would you like to go with your running? Is there anything special you’d like to achieve — like, say, running all six World Marathon Majors, or running an ultra?

I honestly just want to continue to love running. I want to be able enough to keep doing what I love. I never say never to anything, but I don’t want running to feel like a burden.

Right now, training for a half marathon is just right for me as far as time commitment. I am super interested in ultras because of the terrain. The shorter trail runs I have done have been so great.

I also want to keep integrating my creative life into my running. This summer, I am co-leading a running retreat with two friends, and my contribution will be to lead workshops on writing and painting after our runs.

Running sparks so much creativity for me, and I want to share with others how running can be a way to unlock different parts of a person’s identity and talents.

What keeps you going? Especially if you’ve been running for a while — do you ever get bored with it? How do you find new things to motivate you, to keep you going?

I am different every year, every reason, every day that I show up to run. A few years ago, I could only listen to books while I ran. This year I listened to music. Maybe one day I won’t need to listen to anything.

I don’t really get bored of running because I always look for new challenges. I try to sign up for my big race in a new city every year. I try to go where friends live. Sometimes I throw in a relay with friends, and we have more run than we actually race.

The best thing I have done is join my local running community. Montgomery County Road Runners Club has been so welcoming to me. When I am running with them, I don’t have to think about anything because they come up with the track workouts, and long run locations.

Most importantly, we have monthly low-key races all over the county. They are free for members, so I have at least one 5K race to look forward to every month. Two friends of mine and my husband usually run those races with me. It feels so good to do hard things with your loved ones.

Look back at yourself when you were a kid, maybe say 10 years old. Remember how you felt, what you thought, especially what you thought you were capable of back then. If you could talk to that kid now, what would you say?

I would tell that kid that I had no idea what I was capable of! I would tell her not to pay attention to the mile test they give in P.E. It’s not about winning or racing. I would tell her just to keep doing what feels good to her.