Getting to Know: Eric Fernandez

This weekend, Eric Fernandez and the No. 15 Arkansas cross country team return to their home course Saturday for the running of the 23rd Annual Chile Pepper Festival at Agri Park in Fayetteville. The men's collegiate 10K race is scheduled for a 9:45 a.m. (CT) start.

Fernandez is a junior long-distance runner for the Razorback cross country and track and field teams. The Ballwin, Mo., native is a two-time All-South Central Region performer, a member of the 2010 All-SEC First Team and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team during the 2008 season. With Fernandez in the scoring lineup, Arkansas won team titles at the SEC Championship and NCAA South Central Region meets in 2010.

During his sophomore campaign, he finished inside the Razorbacks' top four in all six races he competed. In his second appearance at the national meet, Fernandez was the team's finisher at the NCAA Championships. At the 2010 Chile Pepper Festival, he had a 10K time of 30:02.22 at the annual event in Fayetteville, a season-best time at that distance.

What's the appeal of running a 10,000-meter race?
EF: It's a bit of a weird race because you can have an amazing 10K or you can have a horrible 10K. Like any race, it has a lot to do with how you're feeling that day but specifically with the 10K, I've realized that when things are going right, meaning I'm fit and I'm feeling confident, the 10K is a lot of fun.

Obviously, I have to be a little crazy to be a long distance runner but I think the 10K is so cool for the sole fact that it is such a long race and anything can happen. A lot of times you don't even realize what's going on in the pack but there's a lot of strategy and pace changing. I just like things that can develop. Any race will develop but a 10K has such massive fluctuations that it really keeps you on your toes.

Do you remember your first 10K race as a Razorback?
Yeah, it was awful. It was during my freshman year at Chile Pepper. I had just run my first 8K two weeks prior and I was still in a bit of shell shock from that. Before the 10K at Chile Pepper, (former Razorback All-American) Scott MacPherson told me a 10K is the exact same thing as an 8K but the way I felt when I finished the 8K would be how I'd felt at the 7K mark. It was a traumatic experience but through a little more age, strength and miles, I feel more ready now when I run a 10K.

What's the biggest difference between running on a cross country course and on a track?
Honestly, I think running on the track is a lot easier even though it's faster. I break my cross country 8K personal best when I'm running the same distance on the track. What I've noticed with cross country is you're focused the whole time. You notice every little thing like the elevation changes and things are a lot more jumbled and chaotic. On the track, even when it's chaotic, there's a lot more room to zone out. On the track, my strategy is to not even remember the first four miles because I'm zoning out so much.

What's the most difficult course you've run?
Definitely the (LaVern Gibson Championship Course) in Terre Haute, Ind., at the NCAA Championships.

What makes that such a difficult course?
I don't know if it's the course so much as it is the race itself. In an average cross country race, the first 3,000 meters is chaotic before it starts to spread out and it's just you and a few other runners around. But in Terre Haute, there's a lead pack for the entire race where you spend the entire 10K jockeying without really being able to settle.

How does running at altitude affect a long-distance race?
The first time I can remember running at altitude was back in high school. I went to Colorado with my dad. I was running at an altitude of about 8,000 feet and I had to stop every five minutes just to catch my breath.

Do you have a pre-race routine?
I just chill out. If it's a night race, I'll just hang out in my room, listen to some music and not think about the race. I'll probably watch a cartoon or something to help keep from thinking too much. As the race approaches, I have my warm-up routine that starts about an hour or hour and a half before the race.

If you weren't a runner, what sport would you be playing?
My dad was a big basketball player and I like it and used to play back in my heyday. You know that movie "White Men Can't Jump"? It's not true because I can jump.