Cross Country, Track & Field
Favorite athlete: Lance Armstrong
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: It’s tough to pick one, but competing at the Penn Relays in front of a huge crowd will stick with me for a long time. The commentator announced my name to the stadium.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: From a long list of mishaps – my personal favorite is probably completely losing track of laps during a race, continuing in confusion, and getting yanked off the track by a teammate a few laps after I had technically finished.
Music on iPod: My favorite is Bob Dylan. I listen to a variety of stuff, but Tenacious D, Louis Armstrong and Weezer most recently.
Future plans: Attend Dartmouth College, run, classwork, repeat
Words to live by: “And this above all, to thine own self be true.”
One goal before turning 30: Compete in a ping-pong tournament
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m an avid Monty Python fan.
By Mary Jane Souder
Mac Emery was born to be a distance runner.
Plain and simple.
The Council Rock North senior’s explanation when asked about the appeal of distance running says it all.
“It’s hard to explain perfectly to someone who hasn’t done the sport, but I think the best way I can describe it is just the immense gratification that comes when you work that hard at anything because anyone can relate to the satisfaction you get after putting effort into anything,” Emery said. “It’s a sport that’s focused on that feeling.
“It’s all about sacrifice and reward, and for people who like that sort of feeling, it’s appealing. It kind of sounds crazy to a lot of people, but people who start the sport and stick with it for a bit find themselves getting sucked in.”
Emery admits he got ‘sucked in’ from the outset. A soccer player for most of his growing up years, he went out for track in middle school, competing in the distance runs. It was a natural fit.
“Even before I started running competitively, I sometimes would run for the sake of it just because it was something I always enjoyed,” Emery said.
When it came time to decide between soccer and cross country in ninth grade, Emery chose cross country.
“The major concern was that I wasn’t really going to get any playing time on the soccer team because it was so competitive, and a lot of my friends were going to cross country, and they convinced me to do it,” he said. “I didn’t really regret it because it’s worked out really well.”
That would be an understatement. Emery, a first team all-league selection, was part of an Indians’ cross country squad that was the district runner-up last fall and finished third at the state meet.
“He’s one of the best middle distance runners to come through our program,” said Dave Marrington, who coaches Emery in both cross country and track. “He has a very good attitude, and he works hard. He has a good sense of humor – he’s very quick witted.
“Mac’s the kind of guy that never complains, that just comes to practice every day and works hard.”
Emery, whose course load includes all honors and AP classes, also excels in the classroom, and the senior captain will be taking his talents to Dartmouth College this fall.
“Learning is just a really important thing to me, and it’s important for my future,” Emery said. “I know I’m going to enjoy myself at Dartmouth because I don’t resent a challenge and I don’t resent learning, so I’m actually as excited about that whole aspect for the next four years as I am for running.”
Emery is part of Rock North’s distance medley relay team that finished second at indoor states this winter. He also was part of the 4xmile relay that crushed the school’s record at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.
Last spring, he qualified for states after finishing second in the 3,200-meter run at districts. As a sophomore, he was part of Rock North’s distance medley relay team that competed in the Penn Relays. Emery will have one final trip to the Penn Relays later this month with the Indians’ DMR.
“Some of my favorite times have just been running at the big races,” he said. “Running at states in cross country is always a great experience. I just loved the team aspect of that race.
“I ran at states for track last year for the first time, and even though I didn’t have a great race, it was also enjoyable.
“One of my favorite race memories was definitely running at Penn Relays my sophomore year on the team’s distance medley relay because it’s the biggest race in the world, and you’re running in front of 30-40,000 people. You almost feel like a celebrity, so it’s pretty exciting.”
As much as he enjoys the competition, Emery also enjoys running for the sheer enjoyment. The senior captain organized his cross country team’s annual camping trip held this year at Tinicum Park.
“To a lot of people, staying with about 20 other guys in a camp space with no running water might seem a little barbaric, but it was actually one of my favorite memories of the entire summer,” Emery said. “For the new guys on the team, it was a great opportunity for them to start to meld in with the group. For everyone else there, it was just a continuation of the fun we all have together.”
For three days and two nights, the runners, according to Marrington, live like Kenyans.
“We’re right on the Delaware so you get to go and swim after every run, and you do feel very in touch with nature and the sport that’s highly minimalistic and natural,” Emery said. “I really like that.
“I almost felt when I was there that I was a primeval human being just running. It’s an interesting feeling, a special feeling, especially when you’re doing a sport like running. It’s a gritty sport, so we’re not afraid of sweat or dirt because that’s something that comes with the territory. It’s just a natural and fun continuation of what we do.”
For the past four years, Emery has competed in cross country, winter track and spring track. If you’re counting, that’s 12 straight seasons. He intends to do the same next year at Dartmouth, opting for the Ivy League school over his other finalist, Williams College in Massachusetts.
“Williams is D-3 but still a really competitive school,” Emery said. “Those were the two for me.
“The reason I gravitated toward that sort of school was mostly because of the environment. The large state schools or urban schools didn’t really appeal to me because I couldn’t see myself training in that sort of area, so the more rural schools interested me right away. I guess I just wanted the extra challenge of going to a D-1 school, so I eventually went with Dartmouth.”
Before he heads to Dartmouth, Emery has some unfinished business on the track, although he admits he does not set specific goals for himself.
“My only verbal goal – and it might sound cheesy – is to honestly work as hard as I can and stay focused and put out my very best,” he said. “Typically, a good result will follow.
“I’ve never been one to set a specific goal for myself because when I do - if something goes wrong, it can be devastating really. There are so many things you can’t control, especially in a sport where you can’t control the fluctuations of your body. You can only control your conscious effort and how much work you put into the sport. I wouldn’t say I have one specific goal – always just to improve and be faster, of course.”
How much have cross country and track added to his high school experience?
“That’s hard to even put into words,” Emery said. “It’s been the definition of my last four years really. It’s molded me into who I am. It’s hard to even get started on that topic. You can’t understate the effect it’s had on me.”
Emery will leave Rock South as one of its best ever middle distance runners, but you wouldn’t know it by talking to the senior captain.
“He’s got no pretense about himself,” Marrington said. “His ego is pretty small for somebody with the success he has had.
“I can count on him to do things that are right. You need guys like that.”
