Assistant coach Mike Nugent experiences week of a lifetime
England native runs in Boston Marathon, becomes US citizen
Crossing the finish line at his first Boston Marathon meant everything and more to Chattanooga Football Club second-year assistant coach Chris Nugent.
While drenched from the constant rain, which included a heavy downpour over the final two miles in Monday’s 127th annual event, Nugent wouldn’t trade the experience for anything — including the memorable and crazy week in which so many dreams came true for the Camberley, England, native who has been in America since 2006.
Last Wednesday morning Nugent was one of 49 individuals in Chattanooga sworn in as a U.S. citizen at the federal courthouse in Chattanooga. CFC players and coaches surprised Nugent when he arrived to practice later that morning with a patriotic red, white and blue decorated locker.
Nugent then flew to the West Coast, where he helped lead Chattanooga FC to a 5-0 National Independent Soccer Association road win over Albion San Diego on Sunday night. After being up from 8 a.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, Nugent did not sleep as he boarded a red-eye flight to Boston an hour after the game.
“There were so many really high moments for me all across the spectrum of my life over the last week,” Nugent said. “To become an American citizen was a great feeling. I have lived here for a long time and this feels like home.
“Then it was surreal to run the Boston Marathon and be there after we had a big win in San Diego the night before. To be out there with 30 other thousand people doing it was amazing. To be a part of that was quite emotional. I was drained physically and mentally, but I was so pleased to get to the finish line.”
Nugent was cheered on by his CFC comrades on social media as well as his Chattanooga River Runners club. He ran the Chicago Marathon this past fall and had been actively training for Boston since January. He finished Sunday’s race in a time of 3 hours and 15 minutes just a few years after having hip surgery.
“To see other people celebrating was a really cool to be a part of,” Nugent said. “Everyone has their own unique goals. To see so many people from different walks of life come together last week was something I will always remember. It was so cool for me to see so many people care about something crazy I was doing — especially running after being awake all night.
“The community and culture we have here in Chattanooga is special. We are part of the community and the community is part of us.”
Nugent, who played proa-mateur soccer in the Boston and Rhode Island area, was an assistant coach with CFC head coach Rod Underwood at Stumptown Athletic Club before coming to Chattanooga.
“To see all the dreams Chris accomplished this past week was awesome,” Underwood said ahead of Saturday’s 7: 30 p. m. NISA home match at Finley Stadium against Flower City Union. “To do what he did speaks to him as a person and having a fortitude. None of those things he has accomplished are easy. It takes time, energy, sacrifice and commitment. All those things are important for us in our club. So that is a great fit.”
The highlights will continue to pour in for Nugent and CFC ( 2- 0) as NISA commissioner John Prutch will be in attendance at Saturday’s match to hand out the league’s top awards for the 2022 season to Markus Naglestad (Golden Boot, League MVP), Jean Antoine ( Golden Glove) and Underwood (Coach of the Year).