racinbran@gmail.com
Brief Biography
I started running competitively in the 8th grade (Track - in the Spring of 1999) at Eastwood Middle School in Tuscaloosa. I ran cross country for the first time the following year in 9th grade at Central High School. My high school coach, although extremely motivating and encouraging, was not particularly fit to coach distance runners as he specialized in sprinting and field events. As such, I was subjected to a lot more speed-oriented workouts (i.e. 200 and 400 repeats during XC season) and hardly no emphasis on mileage base training. During cross country season, I probably peaked at 25 miles a week. Yet, I was still able to run decent times in high school (4:28 1600; 9:49 3200; 16:09 5k). I continued running each year throughout high school and eventually received an athletic scholarship to run at UAH under Coach David Cain. My experience there was a lot better in terms of training and results, largely due to Coach Cain's knowledge of distance running. I even experienced the joy of running in shorty shorts for the first time in college (as opposed to basketball shorts in high school)! I had a lot more structured training regimen and had access to trainers and expert advice. The crowning moment of my college career came in my last season of eligibility for cross country. I helped lead my XC team to it's first Gulf South Conference Championship title, beating a Harding team that had won 7 straight. And then to follow that, I helped lead UAH to it's first ever mens team berth to the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship meet, finishing 2nd place at the Regional Championships. My college PRs can be seen under the "Personal Records" section below.
Short Term Goals
Just to get my legs back under me. It's been a couple years since I last raced - due in part to medical issues as well as a period of indecisiveness (not knowing whether I wanted to focus primarily on weight training or primarily on running). My short term goal is to slowly make training and racing a part of my life again.
Long Term Goals
Get back into the shape I was in college, and be capable of racing as fast and possibly faster. I know that, potentially, my best years of running are still ahead of me, so I want to try to take advantage of that. I've been told the talent is there, but I've just got to put in the work. I really want to try to improve on my 5k and 10k PRs.
Personal Records
- 800m - 1:58 at Alabama Relays on 03/19/06 at age 20
- 1500m - 4:01 at JSU Invitational on 04/07/07 at age 21
- 2 Mi - 9:12 at Clemson Tiger Classic (Indoor) (converted) on 02/10/07 at age 21
- 5 km - 14:52 at Georgia Tech Invitational on 05/13/06 at age 20
- 8 km - 24:40 at Brooks Memphis Twilight XC Classic on 10/07/06 at age 21
- 10 km - 31:52 at Sea Ray Relays on 04/14/07 at age 21
I bring to the table a competitve spirit and love for running. I'm also open to making new friends and having a team to run with again. I'm all about team unity. I think a good ambassador for Fleet Feet should have those qualities.