Junior Tim Choe now holds the Suwannee High School cross country record.

LIVE OAK — Suwannee Spotlight highlights outstanding local athletes. This week’s spotlight is on SHS cross country standout Tim Choe.

Choe, a junior, set a Suwannee High School cross country record on Saturday, Oct. 1 at Aucilla Christian. He finished the 3.2 mile race with a time of 16:57.

An intense training regimen and relaxed race-day mindset helped Choe break the 17-minute mark.

SD: Do you have any race-day rituals?

TC: Me and another runner on the team, Micah Hilliard, we have this thing called a hype line. We’ll make up something as random, as funny as possible. It relaxes us before the race. It gets us in a racing mindset. Occasionally, we’ll do our best to rap. We’ll say a funny story or a hypothetical ridiculous situation. We always end up laughing.

SD: Who is a teammate that has helped you improve?

TC: The same teammate, Micah Hilliard. We push each other in speed work and distance in every single practice. We’re both improving as a result of that.

SD: How did you get started in running? What are some of the distances you run in track and cross country?

TC: I played baseball until eighth grade. My friend invited me to run a 5k in eighth grade and I was pretty good at it. I run the 4×800 meter relay, the mile and two mile. My PR for the mile is 4:44 and 10:22 for the two mile.

SD: Do your prefer track or cross country?

TC: I like cross country a lot better. There’s so much time you can make a move in cross country. You have three miles to catch somebody. With track, there is less distance. You have to make your move early.

SD: What kind of food do you eat to maintain energy?

TC: Pre-race day is pasta. Fill up on carbs. I try to eat as little sugar as possible. I’m sacrificing for something I love.

SD: How has coach Rodriguez helped you? 

TC: He has pretty specific training plans. He’s been pushing us a lot harder. His encouragement has really helped me. He wants us to try our best on each workout that he give us. That way we’ll get that ceiling higher before we get fatigued or tired.      

SD: You broke the cross country record as a junior. How confident are you that you can continue to break the record? 

TC: I’m pretty confident that I’ll keep breaking it. With a lot of competitions, I think I should be able to get it a lot lower.  

SD: A favorite runner you would like to compete with?

TC: Mo Ferrah because he won the 10K olympic race even after he fell during the race. It would be awesome to be able to run with him.