Behind the Scenes With Paralympic Champion Nate Tucker
As an athlete, I’ve learned that elite performance isn’t just about training hard. It’s about consistency, mindset, and what you put into your body. Every race, every rep, and every recovery session starts with fuelling right. Working with Gruppo Nutrition isn’t just about the supplements — it’s about teaming up with people who understand what it takes to push your limits, day in and day out. This isn’t just my story — it’s how the right nutrition helps me chase something bigger than a finish line.
When I prepare for major championships, my coach Heather and I always start from the end — race day — and work backward. That’s the pinnacle, the peak of the mountain. But to explain where I am in the current training cycle, I have to do the opposite — I have to take you back to my last big race.
My second-place finish at the Paralympic Games in Paris came down to the final seconds. While silver is something many athletes would be proud of, I wasn’t satisfied. If I were a cartoon character, steam would’ve been coming out of my ears on that podium. I was frustrated, disappointed, and wrestling with what went wrong. But with time, reflection, and Heather’s guidance, I began to understand the gaps. It’s easy to shy away from hard truths, but I’ve learned that how I respond in the valley of failure reveals more about me than anything I do in the glory of success.
Just 48 hours after the race, I was on the phone with Heather. I told her I wanted to run it back — this time at World Championships in India — and win. It wasn’t an easy conversation. I had to be brutally honest with her, and with myself, about what went wrong.
One of the biggest mistakes I made during my Paralympic prep was under-fuelling. I wasn’t eating enough before workouts or on rest days, especially when I knew a heavy training load was coming. That realization led me to a pivotal conversation with Darcy Haggith at Gruppo, thanks to a recommendation from my mentor Melissa Bishop. Gruppo quickly became a game-changer. They’re my go-to for electrolytes, recovery, and mid-workout fuel — and yes, they even combine two of my favourite things: iced coffee and protein. That combo is now a staple in my daily training toolkit.
In 2025, Gruppo is an everyday part of my plan. I’m treating each training session like a business meeting — intentional, focused, and consistent. One of the ways I get myself mentally ready each day is by doing something uncomfortable first thing in the morning. For me, it’s a cold shower. After a month, you’d think I’d be used to it — but nope, I still try to talk myself out of it every day. But that’s the point. If I want to be able to dig deep during a race, I need to practice being uncomfortable, every single day.
Another key tool in my preparation is heading to training camps in Victoria with my team. These two-week camps allow me to double down on the small, often-overlooked details. At the elite level, the training principles are more or less the same across the board. What makes the difference is doing the little things when no one’s watching. Eating right, getting quality sleep, checking in with my team, staying connected to my community — none of those alone will win me a medal. But consistently doing them all? That’s where the edge is. And stepping away from my daily environment at these camps helps me reset and stay sharp, instead of just going through the motions.
I’ve laid a solid foundation in the early months of 2025, and soon I’ll be opening my season at the Tokyo Speed 5K. It’s not my primary event, and that’s exactly why it’s the perfect challenge to kick things off — out of my comfort zone, again.
The road back to the top of the podium isn’t easy, and I still have a lot of work to do. But I’m all in. I’ll be sharing more behind-the-scenes insights throughout the season right here on the Gruppo blog, and I hope you’ll follow along on this journey to India — and beyond.
Let’s get to work.
- Nate Tucker - Paralympic Champion, Gruppo Athlete
