Name: Noah Mack

Sport: Track and Field

Year: Sophomore

Hometown: Elgin

High School: Elgin High School

LG: When did you start running?

NM: I started running track my freshman year of high school. When I was in elementary school, I was always racing my friends, and they said I was fast. My mom was a long-distance runner, and my dad was a sprinter. My mom wanted me to join track in high school. She told me I was doing track. I didn’t really have a choice. And then I was like, “Oh yeah, I like track!”

LG: What events do you compete in?

NM: I compete in the 100, 200, 400, 4X1 and sometimes long jump.

LG: What is your favorite event and why?

NM: My favorite event is probably the 100 because it’s the shortest race, and I’m pretty fast at it.

LG: What’s your fastest time in the 100?

NM: My fastest time is 10.61 seconds. I ran that at Wheaton last year.

LG: Are you trying to beat that this year?

NM: My goal for the 100 this year is a 10.4 something. 

LG: You also play football too. Which is your favorite sport and why? 

NM: I played football first before track, so I’d probably say my first love in a sport is football. But track is up there with football.

LG: Are there any similarities to training for track and training for football?

NM: Yeah, they’re pretty similar. I was a wide receiver in football, so I’d have to sprint a lot. So I would always work on speed in football. And of course in track I’m a sprinter, so I work on my speed in track too.

LG: Do you have any rituals before competing?

NM: One of my favorite movies is Cars. So in my head, I say what Lightning McQueen says, which is “Speed. I am speed.” That’s what I think before my races.

LG: What are the strengths you have that make you a great multi-sport athlete?

NM: You have to have a great mindset. I’ve always loved sports, and I just enjoy playing sports. You have to be committed to doing what you want to do. 

LG: Being a multi-sport athlete, do you hope to go to a four-year college from here and compete in both?

NM: I definitely would love to compete in both. I did not play football this year, so if it’s just track, that’s fine with me. As long as I’m doing a sport.

LG: What do you listen to while running?

NM: Before running, I usually listen to rap or afrobeats. It really depends on the day. I like jazz too. My dad introduced me to jazz. If I want to calm down, I listen to jazz.

LG: What do you eat the night before a big meet?

NM: I love food. Food is great! Fish is good because of all the vitamins and oils, so I usually do fish and pasta for carbs. Spinach is really good too. 

LG: What’s your favorite class right now?

NM: My favorite class would probably be Social Problems. The other classes I’m in right now I really don’t like. I’m in Stats, and that’s kind of hard. So Social Problems is probably my favorite right now.

LG: What one word best describes you?

NM: Confident. I am confident in running. I wish I was more confident in my speaking because I’m a shy person, and I don’t really like speaking. But I am confident in my sports and activities I do outside of school. I like that confidence.

LG: Thank you very much, Noah.

NM: No problem. Thank you.