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Show AggieLife Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 Page 9 Soreness and fatigue a normal occurence for runners went from there." Day in th Life Jeffery Clifford, senior, biology, West Valley, Utah Jeffery Clifford doesn't walk down the stairs backward as a joke, a form of holistic therapy or a cry for attention. He does this as a form of recovery, something common to marathon runners. "It's difficult to walk, soon after a marathon," Clifford said. "You're quads hurt a lot, and you feel like an old man, especially when you're sitting down." Clifford, a senior studying biology, began running in the spring of 2007. He was living on campus on the honors-themed floor of the Living Learning Center building A and was encouraged by his peer mentor to participate in an upcoming local 5-kilometer run collecting proceeds for organ donations. According to his calculation, he said his experience in long-distance running was pretty much zero," but in an effort to support a good cause, he accepted his mentor's request. After a time of training, learning and finally competing in the race, Clifford said he was incredibly shocked at how much he really enjoyed it. So much, in fact, that it soon became a regular and most relaxing hobby for him, he said. "I really had a great time getting ready for it," Clifford said. "It was funny, I honestly went from hating it to really enjoying it, and it just " Things kept moving forward for the West Valley City native. Since that spring, Clifford has ran in two marathons and two long-distance relays, he said, along with an array of 5-kilometers, halfmarathons and shorter races. Though training and discipline can tend to be a bit of a drag, he said the experience on race days is what gives him the push to do more. "I've just found I really like the feeling I have when I'm running," he said. "It's exhilarating running together with a huge group of people. The experience is really cool." After Clifford chooses to train for a race, he said he likes to give himself ample time to prepare. He said he signs up and pays for a race 6-7 months in advance. Then he starts out slow, he said, running short, brisk 3-mile legs during the week and longer expeditions — around 5-6 miles — on weekends. As the months pass, Clifford said he adds mileage to his workout when he becomes more comfortable with the distances. He also adjusts his diet, increasing his intake of fruits and vegetables, while keeping a steady load of carbohydrates, he added. Before long, Clifford said he'll get up to 9-mile weekday runs and 20-mile weekend runs, until he eventually cools things down the week before race day. Clifford said it's difficult to balance training time around work, school, learning to teach LDS seminary and spend enough time with his long-time girlfriend MaryAnn Orton, but he reassures aspiring marathoners organization the key. "In order for me to do it, I have to plan out my day so I can fit it in. It's best for me to train in the morning, but it works best wherever it fits," he said. Clifford also said he loves running in the morning, because it gives him time away from the stress of everyday life. "It's a huge stress reliever," he said. "If I have a lot of homework and am feeling really cooped up, it always feels better to run for a half an hour, cruise my mind and just think about whatever is weighing down on me." With another semester closer to the books and closer to graduation, Clifford is beginning to focus on his post-college plans, he said. Regarding those plans, Clifford said he hopes to teach seminary or institute classes for the LDS Church Education System, if things work out. He said he's also considered working in hospital management. "I've always loved studying the human body and wouldn't mind working there," Clifford said, "we'll just see where things go from here on out." As for the running, he said he's considering another marathon and has plans to run another long-distance relay with his uncle soon. He said it isn't something he plans to let go of. "It may sound crazy to some people, but it is a lot of fun," Clifford said. "It's great to do something healthy and do it with people who are good people and love doing the same thing you are." - steve.schwartzman@aggiemail.usu.edu JEFFERY CLIFFORD RUNS MARATHONS and other shorter races as a way to relieve stress. He said training is the hardest part, but running the race pushes him to keep going. Photo courtesy of Jeffery Clifford Fictionist is for real when it comes to playing I can think of no better way to celebrate a 10-point Aggie Basketball win than to eat some Aggie Ice Cream and to listen to music. After the Utah State and Adams State Basketball game Nov. 5, I wandered my way back to the best place in Logan, Why Sound. One of the many bands playing that night went by the name of Fictionist. Fictionist is really cool live. They have really found the way to make homegrown, organic space rock not only easy to listen to but accessible and fun. I have seen them twice now, and they demand a bigger stage. After their awesome set, I interviewed Stuart Maxfield, the vocalist and bassist of the band, and he gave me some insights on the band: Utah Statesman: How long have you guys been playing as Fictionist? Stuart Maxfield: About 3 1/2 years. US: How did you guys all come together? SM: I met Jacob (Jones) while studying at BYU, Jacob is the keyboard player, and he knew Aaron (Anderson), the drummer, and I knew Brandon (Kitterman) and Robbie (Connolly), who lived in Salt Lake. I grew up in Salt Lake, and so Fictionist came together as kind of a super band of different musicians that played in other bands who knew each other and got together. US: You guys were part of the Rolling Stone contest, and now you guys are signed to Atlantic, that is really exciting. How has that affected your style? SM: It really hasn't affected it. Since the beginning of this group, we've wanted to connect with people, and we also wanted to express ourselves. I feel like playing music is a relationship, you can have a relationship with the audience, and we just want to continue having that relationship with our fans.They haven't encouraged us to do anything, they just want us to write a lot of music so they can put together a great album. songs. My head is honestly swimming. It's so full of songs right now that I sort of don't have any idea what I'm doing on stage anymore, because I can't figure out what song I'm playing. So I'm ready to be done with that, get in the studio, record things super well and just make sure the album turns out super fantastic. US: Where do you draw you're inspiration from? SM: I'm a fan of really good writing, whether it be literature or poetry or whatever, and I read a lot. But where I draw my inspiration from? Everywhere. I mean if I hear something that sounds good to me or compelling, I sort of file that away and take it as inspiration. I recently went through a kick and read a lot of Ernest Hemingway. I found that really inspiring, his writing is really stark and plain, and I like that. I try to emulate that sometimes in my writing, just try not to be so verbose but trying to get the point across in a compelling way. But I take inspiration from US: Are you excited to keep working with Atlantic? SM: Yeah, I'm super excited, but I'm getting tired of writing. We've got about 30 (new) songs right now toward the new album, and that is just me. Robbie has brought a bunch of songs on top of that, so about 40 45 everywhere from Bono to Billy Corgan to Jeff Tweedy, Eddy Veder — anywhere. There are so many good lyricists out there, I just hope to be one of them. US: Where do you think you found that chemistry? Where do you think you found that sound? SM: Basically, just going through hell together. It helped us find that sound. We've tried a million things. We've dabbled in different styles. You end up coming around to what works, and what works for us is this spacey rock sound, and that is what we've stuck with. It feels natural to us. Me, Robbie and Brandon — the guys in front of the stage — we've been playing together since I was 16. We've got so many hours into this that I can read Robbie like a book. I know what he is going to do, I know what Brandon is going to do, but they never know what I'm going to do. I'm unpredictable. - alexander.h.van_oene@aggiemail.usu.edu ACTORS FROM THE LONDON STAGE FALL 2011 TOUR - 11 , tokflow• j TheywTscilra le pest Nov. 10-12, 2011 All performances at 7:30 p.m. I Morgan Theatre I Chase Fine Arts Center I USU Campus Part of the O.C. Tanner Lecture Series Reserved $15 I Seniors and Youth $10 I USU Students $5 arts.usu.edu sI I 435.797.8022 po ACTORS FICTIONIST PLAYED AT Why Sound on Nov 5. The band is a group of college friends from Provo and Salt Lake. Fictionist also signed on with the recording company Atlantic. Photo courtesy of Fictionist F OM THE LONDON RSTAGE I CCA Box Office I Chase Fine Arts Center 139-B, M-F, 9-5 I USU Campus COLLEGE qfth,ARTS UtahStateUniversity |