| Full Name- Andrew Symmes Date of Birth- 5-30-87 Mascot- Eagle Academic Interest- International Business Hobbies- Running, Soccer, Basketball Brothers/Sisters- brother- Brian Symmes
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symmes: Very good. I worked hard and was getting in about 40-45 miles per week.
scrunners: When did you start your summer training this year?
symmes: At the end of May and the beginning of June.
scrunners: How much break did this give you after the track & field season?
symmes: I took off about three weeks between the sports.
scrunners: What do you remember the most from your 2003 track season?
symmes: When we qualified for the upstate meet (3A) in the 4x800.
scrunners: Eastside has captured the 2002 and 2003 track & field Greenville County
Championships, what events did you run during these two meets and how does
it feel to be a member of a two-time consecutive team county champion?
symmes: I competed in the 1600, 3200, and 4x800. It feels great to be a part of the county champion team because it\'s been a long time since we\'ve won the county championship before 2002.
scrunners: What kind of mileage did you aim to reach this summer?
symmes: I aimed for 75-80 miles a week.
scrunners: With your summer mileage, what kind of goals will you be setting for the
upcoming cross-country season and the future?
symmes: I am aiming to break 17 (minutes) in cross country, and hopefully break 10:30 in the 3200 during track.
scrunners: When out on your daily runs what kind of pace do you run on steady days and
easy days?
symmes: I run about a 6:45-7:00 minute pace.
scrunners: When did you start to run?
symmes: I started to run at the end of my sixth grade year at the Reedy River Run.
scrunners: Since your seventh grade year, how many inches have you grown?
symmes: I have grown 9-10 inches since seventh grade.
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Personal Bests 800- 2:15 5k- 17:26.41 10k- 38:16 |
symmes: I knew some people on the cross country team (Emily and Tiana Casto), and they told me I should come out and try it. I had also run the Reedy River Run the year before. From then on I was hooked.
scrunners: What was your first high school meet?
symmes: The Eye Opener my seventh grade year.
scrunners: What kind of success have you seen in the sport have you seen for you and
for your school, Eastside?
symmes: I have made All-Region my ninth and 10th grade years, and my team has made it to fourth in the state.
scrunners: With this success, how did you react and has that led you to build more
confidence since seventh grade and as a current junior Eagle?
symmes: I have tried harder and harder to push my team toward the top. It has absolutely built more confidence for me and my team, I feel that we can do even better this year, and next year I believe that we can win state as a team.
scrunners: What road races do you run, and how many age group awards have you
received?
symmes: The Reedy River Run, Firecracker Frolic, Cooper River Bridge Run, Greenville Downtown 5k. I have won six or seven age group awards.
scrunners: I noticed you ran well at the 2003 Cooper River Bridge Run on April 5, what
were you thinking going into this event and how did you end up?
symmes: I knew that I was the best at longer distances, so I knew that I could do well and end up in the top of my age group, so I just went out strong and tried to keep the pace. I ended up in 96th place overall, and 5th in my age group with a time of 38:37.
scrunners: How many years have you run the Cooper River Bridge Run?
symmes: I have run the bridge run for the past two years.
scrunners: Since the 10k event has started and averages over 14,000 runners, along with
another 7k walk, what is the most enjoyable moment of the whole two day event that
includes the pre-race expo on Friday, the drive to the starting line, the
race itself with all the fans lined up along for the start of the 6.2 mile venture, or the end
of the race atmosphere from crossing the line to turning in your chip, and
filling up bags with food and other resourceful information?
symmes: Probably the race itself, with all of the fans yelling and screaming, it really pumps you up. When you come over the last hill on the bridge you feel the biggest sense of accomplishment.
scrunners: During each cross country season, since your seventh grade year, what kind of
tactic did you learn and use out on the course?
symmes: I learned that shorter legs go up hills easier, so I run as hard as I can up every hill, and pass as many people as I can. I also learned that if you surge enough times when trying to pass somebody, they\'ll eventually give up.
scrunners: From the race tactics you used since your \"running start\" what have you
learned from it and how has it changed for the present?
symmes: I learned that some tactics don\'t go as planned, so you have to keep trying different ones.
scrunners: In track, what has become to be known as your \"speciality\" and what is the
most enjoyable about this event?
symmes: My \"specialty\" is definitely the 3200, but it is not my most enjoyable event because of how many times you have to go around the track. My most enjoyable event would have to be the 800, because it\'s hyped up and fast-paced, and over very quickly.
scrunners: In cross-country and track who has grown to become your individual rival (s)
and team rival (s)?
symmes: My individual rival definitely has to be Jordan Lybrand from Blue Ridge, because we\'ve had our falling outs over the years, but we\'ve actually grown to be pretty good friends because we were on the same Junior Olympic team, and we hung out a lot. Our team rival would still have to be Wade Hampton, we don\'t consider Riverside a challenge, so they wouldn\'t be our rivals.
scrunners: Wade Hampton high school is the Eastside\'s \"real rival\" but running is a
sport that unites all runners off the course or track following a
competition or during training, has this become more of a cross-country and
track & field rival with Wade Hampton?
symmes: It is a track and cross-country rival, but we still get along with the Wade Hampton team, it\'s not that we\'re enemies, they\'re just one step ahead of us, and we feel that we need to be their rivals in order to take that step up.
scrunners: There are two running stores in Greenville, Fleet Feet and Run In (formerly
Run for Your Life) that not only employ runners in the area, but you
associate with most of them daily, what store do you prefer to go to or do
you visit both for the best deals and service?
symmes: I prefer Run In regularly, but I will occasionally go to Fleet Feet because they have a better selection of spikes.
scrunners: What kind of training shoes and racers do you wear the most?
symmes: I wear the Mizuno Wave Precisions for training, but before that I used to wear the Mizuno Wave Phantoms, and for racing I wear the Brooks Hyperion and Nike Zoom Waffle XC spikes.
scrunners: Do you prefer to wear spikes or flats, or does it depend on the course and
season (cross-country/track & field)?
symmes: It depends on the course, if the course has cement or a hard surface, then I\'ll wear flats, but if it is all grass or a rubberized track, then I\'ll wear spikes.
scrunners: When the Eye Opener course changed from Spartanburg to the Milliken course
what did you think of the new course and old course, do you have a favorite?
symmes: The Eye Opener course in Spartanburg at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind was better in my opinion because it had more scenery to it, at Milliken, you\'re at the same place the whole race.
scrunners: The state meet also changed from Fort Jackson to Sandhills. Does this give
anyone an advantage or disadvantage from the first race to the last race of
the day?
symmes: I think that it is the same at Fort Jackson than it is at Sandhills. They have very different course placement, but the hills and sand pits even out between the two courses.
scrunners: Also going under course changes throughout each season is the Coaches
Classic meet and the State Meet, what did you think of the Fort Jackson
course compared to Sandhills (Columbia) and where would you both events to
be held?
symmes: I would prefer the Fort Jackson course.
scrunners: What kind of pre-race tradition has worked for you?
symmes: First I go on a 20-25 minute warm-up, and then at the finish line right before the race I recite the Lord\'s Prayer, so God will help me do my best in my event.
scrunners: A coach/athlete relationship is vital to individual and team success, what
do you think for in a coach and what do you expect a coach to look for in
you?
symmes: I look for a caring, but pushy coach. I think that the main thing a coach looks for in a runner is cooperation and understanding.
scrunners: Have you ever thought of coaching upon graduation, what level, sport, and
what kind of traits would attempt to acquire?
symmes: No, I don\'t think I would be a great coach.
scrunners: Have you ever thought about running in college, if so, what schools have you
thought of attending?
symmes: Definitely. I\'ve thought of attending N.C. State, Clemson, Furman, or USC.
scrunners: Does anyone else in your family run? Will your brother, Brian, start running
this year for Eastside?
symmes: My dad started running a little after I started running, and my brother will probably come to practice every now and then, but I don\'t think he\'s gonna run for the team, even though I want him to.
scrunners: What sports did you play before running?
symmes: Baseball, basketball, soccer. I still play soccer and basketball.
scrunners: When did you fully devote your free time to running instead of other
extracurricular sports?
symmes: In eight grade.
scrunners: What do you think of at the starting line of any event? Is this thought the
same for every race?
symmes: I think that no matter how bad the pain gets, I can always get through it, and try my hardest.
scrunners: What kind of things boost your confidence for a race and what event has
caused you the most pre-race jitters?
symmes: When people yell for me during an event. And I probably get the most pre-race jitters during the 3200 in track.
scrunners: Andrew, during one season at Eastside your body reached a level of dehydration. What year was this? Was it your first season? What exactly happened? What did you do for this and what did you learn from this \"experience?\"
symmes: It was my seventh grade year, my first season of track. I didn\'t have enough electrolytes, specifically potassium, and I had to be rushed to the emergency room because my heart rate went up to 207 BPM. I have learned that I need to replenish my fluids before and after every run.