University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Nicole Pachuta
October 17, 2019 | Cross Country, Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Nicole Pachuta's face lit up when I asked her one of my standard questions, about something she could eat every day and never get tired of it. Her answer was a bit unexpected: frozen banana with peanut butter.
A sophomore cross-country runner from just outside of Athens, in Watkinsville, Pachuta was an avid gymnast for many years before finding her true love, distance running. Pachuta has scored in Georgia's past three meets and will take to the trails with her teammates this weekend at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.
During a Quick Chat on Wednesday, Pachuta talked at length about those frozen bananas, as well as what it's like to be a local attending UGA and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What is it like being a local student-athlete in school at Georgia? Has the experience been different from what you expected?
Pachuta: Yes, it has been different in terms of the amount of time that I would get to go back home and see people. I maybe thought I would get to go back home more than I do, but the convenience is about the same.
Whenever I do really, really need to go back home or see old friends, I get to. When I do get spare time I still get to catch up with some of my old teammates or coaches — we're still really close. It kind of makes communicating easier,
I actually got to see one of them the other night because I was around in Athens; I got to stop by her house and say hi to her. I brought it up to one of my teammates here and she was like, "Oh, I'm so jealous, I never get to do that." It made me realize that it's a lot easier for me than other people.
Frierson: I grew up right next to campus but I didn't go to school here, so even though much of my life has been spent in Athens and within a mile of campus, I don't know what most of the buildings are called or what they're for. Did you have much knowledge of the campus when you got here?
Pachuta: I actually know less than I think some of my friends who are just as local as I am. My parents didn't go to school here so I didn't necessarily grow up a Georgia fan and I didn't follow the football team and the other athletic teams until I was a little bit older.
Because of that, I didn't know the area as well but I did know the parks, like the Intramural Fields and the Botanical Gardens. The first week we were here a year ago when I was a freshman, I was able to lead them on the first day through all the trails because I already knew all of them. From a running standpoint I had everything down, but the buildings and stuff I never really was around that part until I started going to school.
Frierson: One of my nieces lived in Brumby Hall last year and while I knew it was on Baxter Street, I wasn't immediately sure which building it was. That baffled me because I've run or driven by that building probably hundreds of times in my life.
Pachuta: I will say, I actually grew up a gymnast and I grew up watching the Gymdogs. And now that my locker room is actually in Stegeman Coliseum, that is one thing that I think is pretty cool, because I never knew any of that (gymnastics practice facility) was down there. I'd come and watch the Gymdogs and I thought they were amazing. Now it's like, I'm right here.
Frierson: How serious were you about gymnastics and when did you transition to putting all of your energy into running?
Pachuta: I was a gymnast my whole life, from as early as I can remember, up until eighth grade. When I was in eighth grade I was a level 8, I was doing it 20 hours a week, so like four hours almost every school night and Saturday morning, and it was everything to me.
Eighth grade was my last year doing it and it was all I'd ever known. I did a little bit of running in middle school, I was on the track and cross-country teams for parts of the year ... and I actually hated it.
I didn't want to run in high school and during my freshman year of high school, I cheered. My older sister was a cheerleader and I know gymnastics wasn't really for me anymore and that was the closest thing I could get to it. I didn't know what to do the next semester because I was like, I've always done gymnastics. My mom was like, you did well in track (in middle school), so do it your freshman year and you might like it.
My track coach that year changed everything for me. She showed me my potential and I ended up loving the sport. I actually did competitive cheerleading the next year because I'd already made the team and I didn't want to quit on people I promised I'd do something for. The following year I did cross country and I'd say that is when I really realized what I was doing and this was my new thing.
I didn't know what potential I had but I loved it so much and my coaches did a really good job of showing me what my potential I did have.
Frierson: What is it about distance running that grabs you — the purity of it, the fact that if you put in the work you will see the rewards?
Pachuta: That, for sure; I've always been really hard-working, really dedicated. I have an older and a younger sister and they're both gymnasts, too. Things actually came easier in the gym for them and not as easy for me, I had to work a lot harder. I'm not saying they didn't work hard but it would take me a month when it would take them a week to get a skill.
With running it just kind of came naturally and I was able to really enjoy it and push myself really hard and then get success from it. I'm really competitive so I really liked the thrill of winning. I also really liked the community — I went to Oconee County and I had a really good community, we were all friends and we all kind of believed the same things and lived the same type of ways, and that really stuck to me. It made me love more than just the physical running, I loved everything about it.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Pachuta: Oh my gosh, my teammates make so much fun of me for this: I eat a frozen banana and peanut butter every single morning.
But that will probably change because I always pick up a new thing every single year, so that wasn't last year that's a new thing this year. So that's what I have going on right now.
Frierson: What is it about a frozen banana and peanut butter that has you going back every day?
Pachuta: When I first started running my dad told me, distance runners have this thing where so many of them are really particular about what they do before their races — about what they eat, how they dress — and I know you, you're going to be that same way. He said I want your routine to be: no routine. I adopted that as soon as I started running and I've kind of stuck with it ever since.
Every now and again I'll try something new and if I really like it, I'm a creature of habit, so I'll keep doing it. But I have in the back of my mind that if it changes it's not going to change anything. Sometimes I find something new I like and I stick with it for a while and then switch it up.
Frierson: Where did you get the idea to put a banana in a freezer and then smear peanut butter on it?
Pachuta: Me and my little sister make smoothies all the time and so I used to, while I was making the smoothies, eat whatever frozen fruit was in the bag. I think one day I froze a banana myself to make a smoothie and just tried it, and it was really good. It was actually easier on my stomach, too. I went with it and now I think a frozen banana tastes better than a regular banana, and I'm not really sure why.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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