LOWELL, Mass. – Getting the call was surreal. Now, Templeton, Mass., native Nate Jenkins is days away from lining up against the best marathon runners in the world.

            Jenkins, a former standout distance runner (1999-04) and assistant coach (2004-08) at UMass Lowell, was named to the U.S. Marathon Team on May 15 for the IAAF World Track & Field Championship in Berlin, Germany Aug. 15-23.

            Jenkins will fly to Berlin on Aug. 14 with UMass Lowell cross country/track and field coach Gary Gardner. The marathon is slated for Saturday, Aug. 22, which gives Jenkins eight days for acclimatization.

            Training-wise, Jenkins has hit peaks and valleys. Literally.

He had relocated to Colorado Springs, CO, to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in February, but encountered problems with the altitude. Upon learning about his inclusion on the U.S. Marathon Team, his workouts returned “to sea level,” he quipped.

Seemingly in the best shape of his life, Jenkins contracted hemolytic anemia, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells, due to common foot strikes, a frequent affliction among marathoners. An old hamstring twinge also resurfaced.

“I got a little banged up this summer,” he said. “I wassort of all over the place as far as my training.”

Still, Jenkins has been able to log 120 miles per week – sometimes as much as 140 – and will be scaling his workouts down slightly as the World Championships approach.

“I’ve been taking a higher doses of iron and things have really turned around,” he said. “I’ll be scaling down somewhat over the next three days, but because I got a late start on things, I’m not as chronically fatigued. I’m going to keep training pretty hard until we leave on the 14^th.”

Once in Berlin, Jenkins will lighten his schedule beginning with a 20K run at a 5:50-6:00 per-mile pace the day he arrives. From then on, his workouts will consist of no more than six miles a day.

“I’m not sure exactly what to expect,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s going to hit me until I get over there. I’m very excited, but it’s still nerve racking. There are going to be about 23 guys there whose PRs are under 2:09. It’ll be a very deep race.

“I’m hoping it will be in the hot side, so we’ll have to run a little more conservatively, but we’ll see,” he added.