Athlete Through The Lens: Dom Nolan

Athlete Through The Lens is a project by Runlimited and Adrian Varzaru that aims to tell the stories of London's elite athletes beyond performances, times and races. Throughout this series, we will continue to dive into the who, what and why of the person behind the athlete. If you missed previous features, you can read them here.

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When someone has been consistently present somewhere for over a decade, they become conspicuous when they are suddenly absent.

This is especially true on the British track scene, where faces and personalities become mainstays, not just on the start line, but in the social circles that exist away from the track in the peripheries of distance running. Two years ago, male distance runners began looking around for a white singlet emblazoned with two navy hoops and reading Croydon Harriers, to no avail. 

Dom Nolan was the man who they were searching for. Since beginning his athletic career as an under-13, he’d steadily progressed as an athlete, firstly around his native London then nationally before taking his talents to Loughborough University. Graduating from university often poses challenges to runners and athletes, moving from a moderately flexible schedule that allows training to take priority around studies into a rigorous work-schedule usually leads to athletes hanging up their racing shoes. 

“You see so many 21-, 22-year olds stepping away from the sport. For me I realised I still wanted to give more time to my development and see where I could take running” Dom said. After finishing his studies in the Midlands, he made his way back to London, having grown up south of the Thames in Croydon. 

Taking a job in the financial sector working with venture capital firms, training as an elite level athlete was not easy, but he notes just how much enjoyment and good friends to run alongside made things all the more motivating. And he is never on to shy away from a race. As a full-time financial professional, he found a string of good form, including an England 10,000m title and qualifying for the 2021 Olympic Trials in the 5000m. It also afforded him a strong circle of friends in the sport, Dom is always happy to chat with his fellow athletes; rivals on the track, friends after the finish. A chatty character who many people will call a friend, Dom is always a popular winner. 

However, underlying some of his results post-pandemic was a chronic issue that was creeping into both training and racing that presented itself like a side-stitch. Following consultations, it was diagnosed as MALS: Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome that restricts blood-flow in the diaphragm and upsets nerve function, causing pain when breathing deeply. Not ideal for a sport like running. It got to the point of requiring an invasive procedure to correct. This meant months off from training to recover, leaving him out of the sport for a number of seasons and away from the track where he had become a regular fixture.

Just like the post-university period, long-term injury is a big obstacle that, for many runners, is simply too great a task to overcome, leading to stepping away from the competition arena. The prospect of spending hours rehabbing and treating issues is simply too demotivating alongside work and life. 

Yet there was never a question for Nolan. In-fact, he’s clearly relished the opportunity. “Post-surgery, I feel like a version 2.0 of running has begun for me” Dom says, highlighting how the return to running was about finding a new appreciation for the sport and the patience and process it teaches. “I feel like I’m in the shape of my life”. Taking time to adjust his approach to training alongside coach Tim Eglen and mentor Mark Lloyd, as well as prioritising “training with fellow non-professional elites at Battersea Park with the Cottage group”, have been some keys to his successful return. Within the group, Dom is always quick to highlight another member’s performance and welcome new athletes into the fold, relishing the chance to build a strong culture of success and fun.

Since surgery, he’s set about lowering his PBs over 3000m and 5000m and qualifying for three British Championships in the process. He’s set to run his fourth this summer on top of a packed season of racing.

And still, Dom is quick to note how his life and friendships don’t purely exist in a vacuum of ‘running’. “I’d say most of my mates aren’t involved in running in any way, and when I’m at work or not training, my focus is away from running” noting a desire to not be pigeonholed into one thing or another. This is clear to anyone who knows him, because as much as the times and the results help measure success, motivation and inspiration for Dom comes from the people in the sport. “Those that give their time to this, especially without being paid, really inspire me. People like Mark [Lloyd, coach at the Cottage Relocated group with whom Dom trains] and Tim [Eglen, Dom’s coach], as well as all the guys around me doing this ‘non-professional elite’ running like me keep me coming back to the sport”.

Since we spoke, Dom opened his track season with a 5-second PB over the 5000m at the famous IFAM Oordegem Meeting in Belgium, running 13:44. To him, this also marked a big goal of rewriting the Croydon Harriers Men’s 5000m record, something which is deeply personal to him having run for the club since he was 12.

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Adrian and Liam met Dom at Battersea Park to speak with him about his training, racing and life away from the track. Check out Adrian's stills below, and watch the full episode here.

For the session Dom is wearing:

On Cloudboom Strike Lightspray

SOAR Race Vest in Yellow-Black Stripe

Satisfy Space-O 5" Training Shorts in Black

SUMS Runlimited Crew Socks

- Words by Liam Dee, Photography by Adrian Varzaru