Featured Athlete: Carrie Mack

There’s one month to go until the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, Georgia! To qualify for the 2020 Olympic Trials, set for February 29th, female athletes need to run under 2hrs 45 min for the 26.2 distance. Today we’re highlighting one of our favorite qualifiers, Carrie Mack.

Carrie resides in Bend, Oregon and trains as a member of the Little Wing Track Club. Carrie Mack is a story of resilience and determination. In 2018 she fell short of the OTQ (Olympic Trials Qualifier) at the Chicago Marathon by only 11 seconds. Carrie used the frustration of narrowly missing the mark as motivation. However, as she began to build excitement around training for her next marathon she struggled with an injury. After many months spent cross training and listening to her body she was back running. In October of 2019, Carrie achieved her OTQ at the Twin Cities Marathon in dominating fashion, crushing her PR by eight minutes to run 2:36:34. 

How does Carrie use ABT to get the most out of her training?

“Having access to Athlete Blood Test services has been hugely beneficial as an elite athlete. Monitoring my blood levels regularly helps me take advantage of certain training and recovery methods and make informed and smart decisions about my training throughout a long season or race build up. I’ve found it helpful to get blood work done when I’m starting a training cycle or buildup to establish a baseline. I’ve also prioritized monitoring blood levels both before heading into an altitude training stint and immediately after returning from altitude. Knowing my blood levels regarding certain micronutrients, red blood cell analysis, metabolics, and iron allows my coaches and myself to make better decisions about training at altitude to maximize its benefits and minimize risk. This may involve increasing or adjusting various supplements and tracking recovery to ensure my system is responding to training as intended. Another super important time to have my blood levels monitored is about 6-8 weeks out from a key race. For me as a marathoner, I like to do this about 8 weeks out from race day. This gives me time to make any adjustments to training, recovery, supplement intake, etc. as I head into peak training. Ideally, I want to maximize my efforts and avoid any issues that may occur as a result of sub-optimal blood levels. Using Athlete Blood Test services is a great way to help control the ‘controllables’ as I train for an upcoming season or race build-up. It has value for all levels of competitors, no matter one’s age or experience in the sport.”

– Carrie Mack

More about Carrie Mack:

Residence: Bend, OR

Hometown: Springfield, MO

College: Missouri State University

Age on Race Day: 33

Affiliation: Oiselle – Littlewing Athletics

Qualifying Race: Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon 2019

Marathon Best: 2:36:36

Social Handles: Instagram – @carriemack; Twitter – @carrieowenmack

Favorite inspirational quote: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver

Favorite book: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Johnathan Safran Foer 

Fun fact: Carrie is the Community Engagement Manager at the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance, whose mission is to support a healthy and thriving food and farm network in Central Oregon through education, collaboration and inclusivity.