Read some feature stories Mack wrote on a Blugold swimmer, runner and thrower.

Check out Mack's favorite Pearl Jam fan site. 

Take a look at Radiohead's official Web site.

If you know some Spanish, find out what's happening in Costa Rica.

Look what's going on in the world of sports!

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Journalism student hopes to run in a marathon

Senior print  journalism student Mike Mack

 Mike Mack has the attributes and personality to make him a great sports writer. He loves sports, both as a spectator and participant. In addition to having played football, basketball and baseball, Mack also ran track and cross-country. Mack works as a sports reporter for The Spectator, the student newspaper at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.

Mack, 21, understands sports, thus making him lean towards sports reporting, but feels as though he may need to do something other than sports writing. He says that being a sports reporter can be time consuming and that there is very little that changes with the writing and feels the need to go beyond the happenings of the game to break the monotony.

“It sometimes feels like you’re writing the same story with the same quotes,” Mack said. “So it can get boring.”

Mack does acknowledge a possible desire to pursue another area of the news, but still comes back to sports reporting.

“Sports reporting is my forte,” Mack said. “I’ve always been into sports.”

Mack is an avid runner. He ran track and cross country while in high school and says that cross-country is his favorite of all sports. He has also competed for the cross-country team at UWEC for three years and hopes to compete next fall as well.

Mack would’ve already used up his eligibility had he not been forced to sit out during the Fall semester of 2000 with an injury.

On Aug. 31, 2000 Mack broke his right fibula, the outer of the two bones between the knee and the ankle, after being hit by a car on Hastings Way in Eau Claire, Wis.

“I was pretty lucky for only coming away with a bit of road rash and a broken fibula,” Mack said. “If the car had been any bigger I might not be here today.”

Mack feels pretty fortunate. He considers the accident a near-death experience and has opened his eyes to things.

“It gave me a lot of perspective on life,” Mack said. “It allowed me to appreciate more even though I missed being able to run.”

Mack’s love for running has him hoping one day to run in a marathon. But simply running in a marathon won’t be enough for him.

“I want to finish and do well,” Mack said. “I’d like to be able to finish in less than three hours.”

Mack would like to start training for a marathon after graduation, and hopes to make his marathon debut sometime in 2004.

Sports and running aren’t the only thing that Mack enjoys. Music is another passion of his. He doesn’t play any instruments or sing, but he loves to listen to music.

“I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan, along with other grunge bands. I guess I’m still living in the grunge era,” Mack said. “I am also a big fan of Radiohead and U2.”

“My two favorite things are playing sports, running specifically, and listening to music,” Mack said. “If I had my way I’d do those things each day.”

While attending UWEC, Mack, a Spanish minor, participated in a student exchange program that took him to Costa Rica during the spring semester of 2001 to improve his Spanish speaking.

“I got more out of my three months in Costa Rica than I did in any of my Spanish classes,” Mack said.

While in Costa Rica Mack attended the Universidad Nacional in Heredia. He lived with a host family. Mack developed a strong bond with his host brother, Melvin Zamora Sanchez.

Zamora is a year younger than Mack, but they spent much time together.

“I was able to relate well with him. He would take me driving to pick something up from the store and we’d end up in San Jose, which was probably 30 miles from Heredia,” Mack said. “We’d talk, listen to music, and just enjoy ourselves.”

Living with the host family allowed Mack to become more immersed in Costa Rican culture. He said that it was hard to get used to not having hot water for his showers, but overall his host parents spoiled him to death.

Mack enjoyed the Costa Rican weather, which he describes as “perfect” with 70 degree days and plenty of sunshine. He enjoyed the walks to class so that he could observe the people and the streets and everything there was to enjoy and noticed a very laid back culture.

“Costa Rican people didn’t seem as concerned with keeping a schedule as being on time as Americans,” Mack said. “We could show up for a 9:00 class at 9:15 and it wouldn’t be a problem. It was called being on Tico Time.”

Mack plans to graduate from UWEC in December 2002 with a major in journalism, along with his Spanish minor. After graduation Mack would like to live in the Pacific Northwest. His love of running and being outdoors is the reason for wanting to live in that part of the United States.

Mack also enjoys the rain, which would be something that a person would have to be able to tolerate if living in that area of the country.

As for other goals in life, Mack doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself at the expense of the present and isn’t as sold on working for a newspaper as he once was. He’s just focusing on school and ultimately graduating and then have the future take care of itself.