Rakan Draz is a sophomore cross-country and track & field athlete at Eastside High. This spring will be Draz's first track season and last fall was his first year running cross-country. He is coached by Ed Boehmke.

SCRunners.com: How many years have you been running?
Draz: I have been running for one year.

SCRunners.com: What have you learned from running this year?
Draz: This year I learned not to slack off because it'll hurt you in the long run. I also learned running is great no matter what. It doesn't matter if you have bad runs sometimes because they can be made up for in the end.

SCRunners.com: What is your 5k personal best?
Draz: I ran 19:00 (should of been 18:59 though) at the state meet.

SCRunners.com: What sports did you play before you started running?
Draz: I played wrestling, tennis, basketball, swimming, football, golf, and frisbee before running cross country and track.

SCRunners.com: What is your favorite pre race snack?
Draz: I would have to say curious george fruit snacks and blue powerade.

SCRunners.com: Does anyone in your family run?
Draz: I think my dad said he ran before, but I am not to sure about that. My sister is going to start running XC and track in 7th grade.

SCRunners.com: What would you like to run this upcoming track season?
Draz: I am looking forward to running the 4x400, 4x800, 800, and the 1600. I am not too sure about the 2 mile. It depends on how the season goes.

SCRunners.com: What is your favorite pre race song?
Draz: My two favorite songs are FREEBIRD by Lynard Skynard and ICE ICE BABY by Vanilla Ice.

SCRunners.com: Do you or Eastside have any rivals?
Draz: Teamwise our rival is WADE HAMPTON. We will be rivals until the end. I feel that cross-country has another rival, Riverside. Individually I am my own rival because I am always competing against myself. I always am trying to beat my times and getting better every race.

SCRunners.com: What are your goals for track season?
Draz: I want to get really good times. For the 800 I would like to get under 2:10 and for 1600 hopefully I can get SUB 5. With this being my first year I believe the above are some good goals to strive for.

SCRunners.com: What is your favorite cross country workout?
Draz: My favorite workout during the CC season is 4x400, 12x200, 2X1600, and hills.

SCRunners.com: What do you think of South Carolina high school running?
Draz: It could be better. I don't know what it is. I guess good runners weren't destined to live in SC...who knows?

SCRunners.com: What was your summer training mileage?
Draz: I slacked off this summer, a bad thing. I never thought I would be serious about running until the start of the season. I did like 20-25 MPW. By next year I'll end up doing 35-40 MPW.

SCRunners.com: What do you do to stay motivated throughout the season?
Draz: I always think positive about every race I run. I try not to let any negative thoughts cross my mind on race day. Being 5th on Eastside's team keeps me motivated because that's the most important position. In the end it can all come down to the 5th person in the chute. From that reason and knowing that god is there for me every stride of the way helps me stay motivated.

SCRunners.com: What was your most memorable event from the CC season?
Draz: Our team placing 2nd in region, qualifying for state, and getting my PR at the state meet. The whole season was pretty much a blast. Being with friends and having a good time made it awesome.

SCRunners.com: What do you think needs to be done to help improve South Carolina running?
Draz: My opinion is that we need to get kids to start running at a younger age. I have heard that its bad to run at a young age because your bones haven't fully developed. However, the way I see it is the longer you've run the better are your chances of becoming a top-of-the-line runner. I know it's not necessarily true because there are so many runners that are amazing that didn't start until their sophomore or junior year of high school (just an opinion).

SCRunners.com: For more information on Rakan Draz visit www.eastsideathletics.com.