Nicole Aish

{{Infobox athlete

| name = Nicole Aish

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Nicole Jefferson

| nationality = American

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1976|03|08}}

| birth_place = Arvada, Colorado, United States

| height =

| weight =

| sport = Long-distance running

| event = 3,000 metres, 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres, Marathon

| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{flagu|United States}}}}

}}

Nicole Aish (maiden name Jefferson, born March 8, 1976) is a long-distance runner who is a U.S. National Championship Marathon winner and a bronze medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games in the 5,000 metres.

Running career

Since she was cut from her high school basketball team, Aish decided to become a runner.{{cite news |last1=Zgoda |first1=Jerry |title=2005 Twin Cities Marathon Race Wrapup |publisher=Star Tribune |date=October 3, 2005}} She ran cross country and track at Western Colorado Mountaineers with Elva Dryer. Aish set multiple school records{{cite web |title=Nicole Aish - Hall of Fame - Western Colorado University Athletics |url=https://gomountaineers.com/hof.aspx?hof=63&kiosk=true |website=gomountaineers.com |accessdate=January 31, 2020 |date=January 1, 2020}} on her way to becoming the national champion at the 1998 and 1999 NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 3,000 metres. She finished her college career also as the one mile national champion in the 1999 NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships. She still holds the school record for fastest time in the mile (4:38.76).{{cite web |title=Track and Field National Champions - Western Colorado University Athletics |url=https://gomountaineers.com/sports/2011/6/1/TRACK_0601114333.aspx?id=244 |website=gomountaineers.com |publisher=Western Colorado University |accessdate=January 31, 2020}}

Aish continued running after college. In 2001 she raced 3,000 metres at the Prefontaine Classic, where she placed 13th.{{cite web |last1=Wintz |first1=Mark |title=Athletics: Aish duo win big sur half marathon with course records |url=https://runnersweb.com/running/rw_news_frameset.html?https://runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20041018_RWire_BigSur.html |website=Runner's and Triathlete's Web News |accessdate=January 17, 2020}} Two years later, she ran a 32:10 in the 10,000 metres, qualifying for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track Trials.

Aish continued racing track and road races around the country.{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Jerry |title=Running couple keeps it in the family |publisher=Knight Rider Tribune News Service |date=October 18, 2004}} Her first ever half-marathon was in the Monterey Peninsula of California, which she won. Aish then netted prize money for win a large 10k in Colorado.{{cite news |last1=Roper |first1=Geoffry |title=Conditions yield top times at Grand PRix |publisher=The Gazette |date=July 31, 2005 |location=Colorado Springs, Colorado}} A year later, in 2005, she also won her first-ever marathon, the Twin Cities Marathon. She finished with a time of 2:40.21, which happened to be the slowest winning time, likely due to the heat—the temperature at the starting line was more than 70 degrees F.{{cite news |title=Federer claims 24th straight ATP Final |publisher=Star Tribune |date=October 3, 2005}} Although her hamstrings cramped and she walked briefly, Aish won with a comfortable lead. She won $30,000 and the title of U.S. National Marathon Champion.{{cite web |last1=Griffiths |first1=Derek |title=Ahead of the Pack: Colorado Couple Michael and Nicole Aish |url=https://issuu.com/coloradorunner/docs/issue16 |website=issuu.com |publisher=Colorado Runner |accessdate=January 31, 2020 |location=Littleton, Colorado |pages=14–15 |format=PDF |date=March–April 2006}}

Later in 2006, Aish had hip surgery, which stopped her from running in any more major races.{{cite news |title=Coming Sunday: 25th Twin Cities Marathon |publisher=Star Tribune |date=September 26, 2006}} She still competes in shorter distance races, such as the FireKraker 5k for the 4th of July in her hometown in Colorado.{{cite news |last1=Roley |first1=Michael |title=A run for independence |publisher=Fort Collins Coloradoan |date=July 5, 2017}} She has won nearly $85,000 in her running career so far.{{cite web |title=ARRS - Runner Nicole Aish |url=https://more.arrs.run/runner/22116 |website=more.aars.run |publisher=Association of Road Racing Statisticians |accessdate=January 31, 2020}}

Early and personal life

Aish was previously married to Michael Aish, a long-distance runner who competed for the 2000 and 2004 New Zealand Olympic Team. They ran together and won respective men's and woman's titles in the Monterey Half Marathon. Aish started a blog about her personal and daily life but has not posted on it since 2014. Her last post was about a second hip surgery. She and Michael Aish divorced in 2017 and he has since remarried.{{cite web |title=Nicole Aish |url=https://nicoleaish.blogspot.com/ |accessdate=January 17, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BuZVdJwBYe6/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/coloradorunchristyrun/1988715072771688378 |archive-date=December 25, 2021 |url-access=registration |title=Christy Aish on Instagram: "We do ..." |accessdate=April 13, 2020}}{{cbignore}}