School Name: North Phoenix Preparatory Academy
Your name: Jordan Black
Q: What does your training look like right now given the current situation?
A: Right now, I am working on getting my mileage up to prepare for the remainder of the outdoor season, (if we have one) and if that doesn't happen, then my fall cross country season at NAU. Most of my recent runs have been longer and easier and focused more on technique and form than pure speed. I've also been doing some core work.
Q: What are you doing to stay busy other than run right now?
A: I have been taking online computer coding classes and playing video games. Other than those things and training, I haven't been doing much.
Q: What was your most memorable race/moment?
A: My most memorable race was Desert Twilight last fall. It was such an emotional and triumphant moment as I came through the finish line sub-15 minutes, and it meant so much to me due to the training and work I had put into my running.
Q: What was the funniest thing that happened during your running career?
A: The funniest moment during my running career would have to be the random music I and my team listened to on our long runs. We created a playlist of the weirdest songs that we listened to every run and it added to the experience that running gave me in high school.
Q: Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
A: My biggest competition over the last four years, and even back to middle school, has been Adam Whitehead. We have both been consistently pushing each other to be the best we both could be, and I think we both greatly benefitted from our continual "rivalry".
Q: What was your greatest accomplishment?
A: That would be breaking 15 minutes at Desert Twilight. As I mentioned earlier, the race was a big stepping stone in showing the potential I had in running, and what I am capable of.
Q: If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
A: If I had to change something about this whole experience, it would be getting to know more of the runners across the state. In the first couple of years of high school, I was shy and didn't get to know many other runners, but now, I realize getting to know your competition adds a lot to racing and makes the whole experience more fun.
Q: What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
A: The most difficult obstacle I had to overcome was helping build a team from a very small school (fewer than 200 students currently) over the past 7 years. Last cross country season, we only had 6 runners on our whole boys' team, compared to this year where our team took 1st in Division 4 at state. It's been a journey creating relationships and forming a close-knit group in high school.
Q: What will you miss the most?
A: I will definitely miss my team and all the great moments we shared together. I've been running with most of my teammates for about 5 years now, and it's going to be difficult to move on from the people that made this journey so memorable for me.