Daniels running true to form

Jimmy Daniels wasn't much of a runner in grade school.

"I used to get teased," Daniels said. "They said I ran like a robot."

Daniels has improved his style at Sterling High School. The senior is one of South Jersey's top distance runners, a standout in both track and cross-country.

In the spring, Daniels won the South Jersey Group 2 title in the 3,200 meters in a time of 9 minutes, 30.16 seconds, which was 21 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. He was second in the Group 2 state meet in the 3,200 meters in 9:27.78.

Last fall, Daniels was fifth in Group 2 in the South Jersey cross-country championships in 16:13. He placed 15th in the Group 2 state meet in 16:57.

Daniels is a top student who hopes to major in pre-med in college, with an eye toward becoming an orthopedic surgeon. He's considering schools such as Bucknell, Rider and Iona, among others.

Question: Have you always been interested in distance running?

Answer: I didn't start running until my freshman year. I just went out for cross-country to get in shape for baseball and I fell in love with it.

Q: Are you a cross-country runner who runs track or a track runner who runs cross-country?

A: I get asked that all the time and I don't know how to answer. I love cross-country. It's my favorite. We're so close as team. It's like a big family. But my times seem to improve a lot more in track. I guess I'm more of a track runner who runs cross-country.

Q: What do you like best about distance running?

A: From the first time I went to practice, I couldn't believe how relieving it is. It's like you leave the rest of the world behind.

Q: What kind of [weekly] mileage have you been doing this summer?

A: I took about four or five days off after track and then just started gradually building up. I was doing around 55 miles early in the summer and I built up to around 80 the last few weeks.

Q: What's your favorite place to run?

A: I have two favorites. One is Brandywine Creek in Delaware. The other is Ocean City. We take a bus trip as a team early in the season and we run the boards and then get a day at the beach.

Q: What's your favorite subject in school?

A: Science. My favorite class was Human Biology my junior year.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to?

A: I'm all over the place. I jump from Metallica to the Bee Gees. I love classic rock.

Q: What's your favorite TV show?

A: The Walking Dead. I have a picture in my bedroom of me running at Holmdel Park and there's a bunch of runners behind me and everybody says they look like zombies chasing me.

Q: What are your individual goals for this cross-country season?

A: I want to break 16 minutes at Holmdel.

Q: What's the outlook for the Sterling team?

A: It's good. We lost some top guys from last year but we've got some good young runners who have been working hard. My sophomore year we were fifth at the sectionals and last year we were fourth. This year, I think we have a shot at second or first.