JS: I have seen both, but I m not sure which one I like better because I like them for different rea

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Jacob Smith of Brockville, Ontario recently joined the successful Speed River Track and Field Club based in Guelph, Ontario. He graduated from High Point University having competed for the Panthers from the 2009/2010 season and graduated in 2014. He competed primarily in the 3,000m steeplechase. The Panthers compete in the Big South Conference of the NCAA’s first division.
To cap off his final season, at the Big South Championships, Smith won the Indoor 3,000m in 8:14.72 and ran a personal best time in the mile with his 4:09.07 at the same meet. He ran the 5,000m in 14:41.35. He also ran career bests in the 800m 1:58.31 and 3:48.65 for the 1500m event. His 5,000m best is 14:01.66. Smith twice competed in the NCAA National Championships earning a personal best in his 2014 finals-qualifying performance where he ran the steeple in 8:44.01.
Jacob Smith: Absolutely, that s where I first picked up distance running. I mean I ran cross country during elementary school, but like most kids that age it was just to get out of class. The coaches at Tiss were fantastic. They saw early on that I could be pretty good and they pushed me to get there.
It definitely helped having guys like Matt Leeder, Kyle Milks, and Will McFall who had been around the sport for a while already. We were the same age but they definitely took me under their wing so to speak and helped me along the way. Getting my family my butt kicked by them on a daily basis was definitely a blessing in disguise, it motivated me to work harder to reach the level they were on and experience the success that I saw them enjoying.
JS: I think I had the ideal start up to my running career. I feel like at that age if I was the top guy in school I would ve thought my family I didn t have to work too hard. OFSAA and national events would have been unknown concepts to me, let alone something to strive my family for.
JS: It s pretty cliché but I was a big fan of Steve Prefontaine, not because he was a front runner or anything like that; Pre was the first big name I had heard of in the world of track and field. I remember Leeder showing my family me Without Limits for the first time on a cross country trip. I had no idea who Pre was; I thought Leeder was joking with me after the car crash scene happened and he said it s too bad that he died so young , I was fully expecting a miraculous recovery and an Olympic victory in Montréal before they showed the funeral procession a few seconds later.
JS: I have seen both, but I m not sure which one I like better because I like them for different reasons. I liked Without Limits for more of its story telling perspective, Pre was more like a pseudo-documentary but I liked how it focused more on his fight against the AAU. I ve yet to see Fire on the Track but I ve heard good things. Apparently it s somewhere on YouTube so maybe someday I ll get around to watching it.
JS: None whatsoever. I ve got so much left to accomplish in those events before I make any changes in distance. my family I ll definitely be focusing on the steeplechase, we ve got an incredible group of steeplechasers at Speed River that I m lucky to be a part of. I like to think of myself as much more speed oriented so I don t foresee a serious 10k in the near future, maybe a road race or to use one as a workout