Roseville distance runner Robert Mechura grew up with a curiosity about how to produce the video content he enjoyed as a consumer.
Finding a compelling story to promote his YouTube channel simply meant turning the camera on himself. Mechura ran to victory in five of six high school cross-country meets this season, including the Class 3A state championship, then added a Nike Heartland Regional Championship. Mechura is the Star Tribune Metro Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year.
Not that Mechura is all about himself. To the contrary, he includes footage of his Raiders teammates. And he shares training tips, race strategies and reflections on his performances.
"I want the videos on my channels to be sources of inspiration for other runners," said Mechura, a junior who has released an annual season highlight video from track and field since freshman year and started adding cross-country recaps sophomore year.
"It's been fun for me and others," he said. "Since I've grown the channel, I keep getting better and better feedback."
He expects the video encapsulating his stellar cross-country season to drop before the end of December. Mechura's crowning moments, the Class 3A state title and a personal-best time of 14 minutes, 32 seconds at the Nike Heartland Regional Championship, are sure to be included. So will the fall season's anticlimactic final race — a 20th-place finish at the Nike Cross Nationals on a rain-soaked Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore.
"That was 100 percent disappointing," Mechura said. "But it provides motivation for the future."
