Last year was a breakout year for Nadir Yusuf (pronounced Nah’dear You’suff). In March of 2023, Nadir set a personal best in the half marathon at the Trials of Miles Project 13.1 race in New York in a time of 63:27. In May, he won the Essential Health Fargo Half Marathon setting a new course record. In his marathon debut in June, he ran negative splits (1:08:08, 1:07:19) to achieve an Olympic Trials Qualifier at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN in a sparkling time of 2:15:27. And finally, in November, he registered a top ten finish (2nd American) at the Boston Half Marathon, clocking in with a time of sub 64 minutes on a difficult course in frigid conditions.
Nadir continued his success on the roads in 2024 by placing 25th at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando in a time of 2:16:15 followed by a top ten finish at the USATF 20K Championships in Grand Rapids, MI. His achievements on the road were rewarded when he signed a contract recently to run for the pro team of Minnesota Distance Elite in Minneapolis, MN.
Nadir’s backstory is compelling. Migrating to the US at the age of 10 after spending time in refugee camps to escape war-torn Somalia, Yusuf became the first member of his family to graduate from college, receiving his Bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) in 2021. While at MSUM, Yusuf broke multiple school records at multiple distances including the 3,000m (8:55), 5,000m (14:13), 10,000m (29:03), and XC 10K (30:13). For his accomplishments he was named the Dragons Male Athlete of the Year for both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. A three-time All-American and 7X NSIC champion, Nadir won the highly competitive 2021 Drake Relays 10,000 meters in a time of 29:12 and was the champion of the 2019 NCAA D2 Cross Country Championship when he ran 30:13.
A US citizen, Nadir is finishing an MBA degree at his alma mater, is employed as a sales development representative for Bushel (a firm that specializes in providing software technology solutions for the agriculture industry), and runs for and is coached by Chris Lundstrom of Minnesota Distance Elite.