Seven Questions with Nathan Corder
11/4/2008 12:00:00 AM
Nov. 4, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Rolltide.com and the Alabama men's cross country team have started a new weekly segment called Seven Questions. Select players and coaches will check in weekly on Rolltide.com and answer questions pertaining to things on and off the field. The 10th edition features freshman Nathan Corder.
Rolltide.com: When and why did you start running?
Nathan Corder: If you ask my parents they would tell you I have always been running ever since the day after I could walk. I didn't start competing until 7th grade, but even then, I wouldn't consider myself a runner (just an athlete). When I started running, I did it only to condition for wrestling (I had wrestled since age six. My real decision to be a runner didn't come until my junior year in high-school when I stopped wrestling to focus solely on running. I had the choice between being good at both or being great at one. Though I miss wrestling, I wouldn't take back the decision, I love running too much.
Rolltide.com: Do you have a pre-race ritual?
Corder: Apart from the usual stretches and strides, I can't say I have much of a routine before races. However, the one thing I always do before any race is pray. The prayer is short and simple. I pray for strength, speed, and endurance; that God would carry me swiftly and safely through the race; and, most importantly, that with any success I get, He shines through. Above all, I run for His pleasure.
Rolltide.com: What are your personal goals and what are the team goals for the season? Career goals for college and further?
Corder: I'm a true freshmen running on the fifth best team in the nation. I get to chase warriors everyday at practice. It's hard to go much higher than that. It is such a privilege to be on this team and to be accepted by these guys. My highest goal is to make them proud and to support them. Personally, my goal is to run on the SEC team and, if I can, even farther into post-season. A time PR (personal record) is hard to pin down right now. I've only ever run one 8K, but my most immediate goal is to beat that time. One of my favorite quotes about running is one I heard from a clerk at a shoe store: "I'm just chasing zero." The team goals are set in stone though. We are going to win the SEC. Every person on the team knows that is the goal. Past that, NCAA's is our final proving ground. We are ranked fifth, but I would love to see us break into that top three.
Rolltide.com: What's your favorite race and why?
Corder: The longer the distance, usually the better I do. Oddly enough, though, I prefer the two-mile over the 5 & 8Ks. It's just an 8-lap grind where the finish line laughs at you each time around and the backstretch seems to grow longer and longer. No one is ever out of site, and the competition is always either at your heels or in your face. Everyone's legs burn at lap seven, but whoever wants it the most finds something more to drive them. I run the whole race dreading and desiring that last 200 meters dreading the pain, desiring the thrill.
Rolltide.com: Why come all the way to Alabama from Ohio?
Corder: The easiest way for me to answer that is this: I know this is the school God wants me at. Had you asked me the same question half a year ago, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. I was dead set on going to a top-ten academic school, and if I had to run in order to make that dream come true, I would. As a National Merit Scholar, I had many schools offering me academic opportunities, one of which was UA. Alabama's (academic) recruiting office contacted me often. It was obvious I was more than just a name on a list to them. My parents said that if this school was trying that hard to get me to come, I should at least visit and listen to what they had to say. I'm glad I came. I absolutely love the campus, the people, the facilities, and everything else. I don't think any other school could offer me the same academic and athletic opportunity UA has poured onto me. I am so grateful to be here.
Rolltide.com: Other than running, what Olympic sport would you want to compete in and why?
Corder: That's easy, wrestling. I grew up in the sport and even work now as an assistant coach for my town's junior high team. I love the strength and endurance required combined with the courage and sacrifice. It is truly a unique sport in that as you stand alone in front of another man, each of you put it all on the line. The winner is the man who has the desire not to submit. The true goal is not to conquer, but to break your opponent's will to continue. There are few experiences that can compare.
Rolltide.com: Who do you try to model yourself after, in terms of running? Why?
Corder: I model myself after the person in front of me, whoever it is. They know something I don't. They are doing something I'm not. They have something I lack. If I'm going to be the best runner I can, I have to learn from every person I chase so that I can get ahead.
