MEET
ADAM TOGAMI
Adam Togami, 30, is a teacher and coach at New Albany High School. He’ s also an avid, and successful, runner.
Togami, a 2012 graduate( he was one of 10 valedictorians) of NAHS, was a multi-sport athlete for the Bulldogs. However, he didn’ t seriously pursue running until his senior year. It was a watershed moment for him.
He went on to run cross country and compete in track & field at Wabash College, from which he graduated in 2016.
After that, he returned to the area to pursue his master’ s degree in education and begin his teaching career while also continuing to run, mostly in marathons and half-marathons.
Togami, who teaches biology at NAHS, is the head coach of the girls’ cross country and Unified track & field teams. Last April, he finished third in the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon. This April, he was slated to run the Boston Marathon for the first time.
Get to know Togami more below.
01
How did you get started running?
A: I was a kid in high school who did a lot of sports and I was interested in meeting new people, so I went out for the track team my junior year. I started running with them and was kind of half doing it, because I was playing soccer in the spring competitively. I really enjoyed my experience on the track team, with the guys, and they convinced me to come out for cross country my senior year. I ended up being one of the top runners on the team, which kind of lit a bit of a fire for me. I realized,‘ I’ m actually pretty good at this. I’ m better at this than I am at soccer.’ So I went full-time for track my senior year. And then I talked to coaches and decided if I was going to do a sport in college, I wanted to keep running.
PAGE NO. 18 NEWS AND TRIBUNE SPORTS MAGAZINE MAY / JUNE 2025