Q & A with Cross Country's Corey Smith

At a glance

In an ongoing effort to allow the Alfred State sports fan a glimpse into the life of a Pioneer athlete, this weeks subject for Q & A is Corey Smith (Wallkill). Smith finished third at the Bridgman Invitational, helping the Pioneer cross country earn a first place finish. We asked Corey some questions to help you get to know him better.

Mon, 09/22/2008 - 10:20

In an ongoing effort to allow the Alfred State sports fan a glimpse into the life of a Pioneer athlete, this weeks subject for Q & A is Corey Smith (Wallkill). Smith finished third at the Bridgman Invitational, helping the Pioneer cross country men earn a first place finish. We asked Corey some questions to help you get to know him better.

What are your personal and team expectations for this season? My personal expectation of the season would be to go to nationals and place in the top 30, and for the team expectation of the season would be top 3 at regionals and top 7 at nationals.

Describe what strategy goes into a cross country race (other than running fast)? Strategy is a big part of cross country. The main strategy is preparation for the race. It all starts 3 days before a race. Carbing up, eating healthy and getting plenty of sleep days before the race helps you have more energy and strength. The morning of the race it's good to get some motivations in your mind for the race. When you get to the location of the race you've got to walk the course to examine it for rough spots like rocks, holes, and stumps. Also while walking the course you map out where all the hills are on the course so you know where and when to pick it up or take it down a notch to ensure that you don't use up all your strength and become in a state of muscle failure. All the planning must be done by the time the gun goes off. It's good to get in a mile or two before you get to the starting line. Not only to warm up, but to get mentally and emotionally prepared to the extreme amounts of pain and exhaustion you are about to endure.

What makes Alfred State College's cross country course different from other courses? The placement of the hills on the course, definitely.

Who has been your biggest influence? My biggest influence would have to be my grandfather.

How do you deal with the pressure of meeting both athletic and academic responsibilities? I really don't have the time to pay attention to pressure, and running in itself is a great stress reliever. So pressure is usually ignored in my mind.

What is on your iPod? I actually don't own an iPod. I have an MP3 player, which holds mostly rock music and some instrumental music such as the violin, piano, and bagpipes. I only listen to music when I go on runs longer than 13 miles, other than that I don't really listen to music too casually.

If you could have superpowers, what would they be? The ability to read minds.

Name 3 people, past or present, that you would like to meet? William Wallace, Dean Karnazes, and Mel Gibson.