Alabama may have won the CFB national championship but that doesn't mean you have to stand up anbu. Instead you can cheer because it's time for another community interview!

How/when did you start running?

I’ll start with a bit of background because I haven’t been running very long. Since I was little, I’ve been the “fastest kid in the class”. So, I took up basketball and became a speedy little guard from middle school until sophomore year of high school. I always hated running and never tried out for track or XC because it was routinely used as punishment during basketball. After quitting basketball, I focused on school and became a bum for the next 3 years until I started running in September of 2016. I picked up running because I was mad at myself for being less healthy than my 50-year-old dad who runs 25mpw. I signed up for my club’s April 5K to keep me motivated and had a lofty goal of running sub21 minutes. My plan was to run 3 times a week and start lifting. Unfortunately (fortunately?) for me, the gym closed for renovations, so I was forced to focus solely on running. A bit later I discovered r/advancedrunning and the rest was history.

What are your PRs?

• 5K – 16:51
• 10K – 37:51
• Marathon – 2:57:43

Favorite shoes to train or race in?

All my PRs and training runs have been in the Altra Escalantes, but I’m changing it up this year and trying new shoes because I feel like they’re too responsive for recovery runs and bottom out during faster stuff. Plan right now is Saucony EndorphinRacer2/TypeA8 for track stuff, Escalantes for tempos, and Altra Torins for recovery.

What's your next race?

Probably a February track mile/1600.

What is your favorite distance to race and why?

Right now, I really like the 5K because it’s easy to find one every weekend and I feel like it suits my strengths better than the other road race distances.

What are your goals this year?

This past year has taught me that I am terrible at coming up with long term goals for myself. So, extremely tentative goals for this year are mid 15 for the 5K, and I’ll probably try to grab a 4:30 mile while I’m at it.

Proudest running accomplishment?

I still can’t believe I ran a marathon and BQ’d. It’s going to take something big to top that.

What do you do outside of running?

I’m a full time pre-med student that uses running as a distraction from all the stress and competitiveness.

What other hobbies/interests do you have?

I enjoy fishing when I have time. I also try to squeeze in anime when I can.

What is your favorite route/place to run?

Favorite place to run right now is probably a 5-mile hilly, dirt road loop 20min outside Gainesville. Tobacco Rd (yes, the one from Once a Runner) and the UF track are a close second and third.

Do you have a favorite run/race that you’ve ever done?

I did 17miles w/ 14@MP 2 days after setting my 5k PR. Not only was that a bit of a whoa moment, but the guy who helped pace me ended up running an OTQ this year at CIM.

If you could run anywhere in the world with anyone in the world, alive or dead, where would you run and who would you run with?

I’m going to cheat a bit and say I’d go for a run on Tobacco Rd with some original Florida Track Club runners. So that would include: Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler, Jeff Galloway, and I’d throw Marty Liquori in there as well.

What do you think has been the greatest contributor to your success in running?

Probably my pretzel based diet.

What is your favorite post long run food?

Power Cakes are amazing.

If you had a year to train, with no other distractions, how fast do you think you could get?

Maybe sub15 in the 5K.

What is your favorite Pokémon? (editors note: I did not ask this question)

It’s changed over the years from things like Lucario, Salamence, Grovyle, Sneasle/Weavile, and Gyarados. But I’m pretty settled on Umbreon right now.

Favorite subreddits?

r/artc, r/medicine, r/floridagators, r/fitness, r/running, r/dataisbeautiful, r/jokes

Origin of your username?

I have a love-hate relationship with my username. Anbu is cool, I guess, but the numbers just ruin it. I’m big into anime and joined reddit when I was playing a lot of Super Smash Brother Melee for the Nintendo Gamecube. Anbu was my gamertag and 1538 is some old lucky numbers cuz someone has plain anbu.

Strava link if you use it?

Strava