Planning your day after training is just fun!

He has quit his job, university is over for now, and he can finally relax and train twice a day: young talent Noah Löser is enjoying the summer in Berlin. But things will soon move on for him: from August he will be studying in the USA. What does that do to him?

Words: Agata Strausa
Video: Fellusch

Noah Löser is the young hope at the Berlin Track Club and recently achieved a top-10 placement at the German Junior Championships over 5,000 meters. The 21-year-old is actually still a newcomer to running, as he tells más in an interview. Unfortunately, his chick status didn't save him from a tough, persistent injury. After months of only being able to do alternative training, he fought his way back this year. He can finally train with his friends and team in Berlin again.

But he sees his sporting future elsewhere: starting in August, Noah will be going to the USA for four years. There he wants to study training science in Williamsburg, Kentucky. It's a small place, but a big university, says Noah. In the USA he hopes to be able to combine sport and studies better than in Germany. As a “student-athlete” he doesn’t have to work while attending university, but instead receives a scholarship.

más: How did you get into running?

Noah: I was introduced to running through my family. When I was in elementary school, my grandfather took me to the stadium every now and then and I ran in a few fun runs. But first I played football for quite a long time. When I was in high school, I went to a fun run with my dad and grandpa and did quite well. That motivated me to train more alongside football training. At some point I realized that I was good at running and then I stopped playing soccer to concentrate on running.

What is your favorite route in competition?

Currently 5 kilometers. It's the perfect mix of speed and endurance.

What is it about training every day that appeals to you?

I just love it when you're in a training period where you just have a streak and can train through. It then feels like a movie. The lifestyle of planning your day after training and training every day - or even training twice - it just gives me a lot of structure and is fun.

You have quite a long injury history behind you. What was going on?

I had inflammation at the base of my Achilles tendon. At the very beginning I also had a bit of water retention in my heel bone. This lasted a very long time: from February 2022 to November 2022. I felt it now and then in the 2023 indoor season.

That sounds harsh! How do I handle this? Was there a point where you had doubts?

It was definitely tough, especially in the summer when the track season was on and everyone was in top shape - but I couldn't run at all. That was quite demotivating. I've often thought about why I still do this to myself, sitting on a bike indoors for three hours in the summer to get a bit of fitness. In the end, I don't know why I continued. But I felt like I wasn't done running yet. I still see it as just starting out with running. I think that's why I kept going.

Now you're off to Kentucky, USA. What was your impression of college there?

I didn't look at the university in person like others did before. I got a pretty good impression online and had several Zoom calls with the coach. It will definitely be interesting because I have never been to the USA and am studying there now. But I am confident that I will like it there. Everything I've seen from the university so far makes me excited.

How do you feel about flying to the States?

On the one hand, I'm a little nervous about whether I'll be able to cope and whether it'll be as I imagined. But I'm really looking forward to the team and the experience.

Maybe it's a little early to ask: But what will you miss about Berlin?

What I will miss most in Berlin are my friends, the classic running routes through the Tiergarten, Krone and Grunewald. I'll miss the coffee after the long run - I hope I can get one there somewhere too. And I will simply miss training with the crew in Berlin.

What have you learned from running in general?

Definitely that it is important to be patient. Unfortunately, it's very difficult for me to do that. To be patient and consistent and trust that what you put in, you will eventually get out.

What are you most proud of when it comes to running?

I am particularly proud of the experiences I have had in connection with running. How many different people I was able to meet and go on competition trips. Or that running now gives me something like the USA.

What are your goals for the next few years?

To be able to train well and consistently and see what I can get out of it in the USA with the much more professional training and the better compatibility of sport and university.

If you could change one thing about running, what would it be?

The external perception: I think running and athletics are cool and attractive sports - but they don't have enough fans. If the sport had more attention, more support for young athletes would be possible among the general public and that would definitely change the sport of running for the better. Cool events like the On Track Nights and other cool races help. I hope there are more of these in the future.

Thank you for the talk!