Meet Noah Monroy | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Noah Monroy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Noah, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
SD Prep Track was built on the foundation of creating a community in San Diego County where runners in the high school track and cross country scene could connect socially, on and off the course (or track). There are national media outlets that covered the entirety of the sport, but they rarely ever came to San Diego- only at the cross country CIF Finals in the fall. I remember watching my one-minute interview when I won my cross country CIF division at Morley Field, and I thought to myself “What if I start were to start something like this just for San Diego?” This notion soon came to fruition in SD Prep Track in January of 2017. This was a time period when social media was really starting to permeate itself into the lives of youth, and I noticed many rivals that I raced from competing schools starting to follow my personal social media. I then set about starting up a website for rankings and articles, YouTube channel for race videos and interview, Snapchat account for people to take over, Instagram page and linked Facebook for announcements, and a Google Ads account for monetization. It took a little while to get the ball rolling, but after a while we starting gaining traction. Parents, coaches, and relatives alike all starting joining in, and SD Prep Track took off from there.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets SD Prep Track apart is that it was for athletes, and ran by athletes. The same kids that were endlessly practicing and working hard were also the same ones filming and interviewing others in between their races, writing recaps, analyzing results for rankings, then going back to edit footage and publish it. Many others in the community also pitched in to publish their own articles and take photos for their respective leagues.

The journey was not at all easy. There were many late nights watching YouTube videos and self-teaching myself on how to buy a website domain, monetize the YouTube and site content, order merch, learn Adobe Creative Cloud, and more. But in the end it was all worth it. I learned that with diligence, dedication, and time, you can really see something that was a dream come to fruition. I also got my first taste of leading a time and managing a project/business with many moving parts.

SD Prep Track has a special place in my heart. What started as a passion project blossomed into a full-blown money-making platform that not only further-connected the running community in San Diego, but brought me to some of my closest friends.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many amazing places to check out in San Diego where a week wouldn’t be enough!

One no-brainer would be the beach. A hike up Torrey Pines Hill gives amazing views and time to reflect, while a picnic at Mission Bay or Del Mar shows for a good time. The San Elijo Lagoon and Ecological Reserve is also one of my favorite run spots! If this was during the summer, one evening one have to be set aside for a good old Padres game. You really can’t beat those vibes, and I love their new City Connect uniforms!

As for food, some of my favorites are The Friendly Tavern in North Park, Vallarta Express in Pacific Beach/Mira Mesa, Jasmine Seafood Restaurant & Express in Convoy, and Tacos El Gordo in National City.

Some amazing views for extra touch would be biking along the Coronado Strand, walking along the Embarcadero and Waterfront in Downtown San Diego, and the Carlsbad flower fields.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
SD Prep Track wouldn’t have had the success its had without the contribution of so many athletes in the San Diego community that put in their time and effort to see this dream grow!

Special shoutout to Stefen Rasmuson for being there from day one. We had many late nights in which we had to swap SD cards, render video edits, and upload content. Through this experience I was able to gain one of my closest friends in life.

Edgar has also been amazing in taking up the mantle of leading SD Prep Track’s current efforts on the field, and keeping the ball rolling with the next generation of prep athletes. He continues to provide quality content that the community loves.

Other special thanks to Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos, Robert Bartsch, Samuel Pak, Joshua Litwiller, Simeon Paul, Alex Bobowski, Gabe Stamat, Ben Peraza, and the many others who have all pitched in on the efforts!

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/sdpreptrack/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sdpreptrack/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahmonroy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sdpreptrack/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sdpreptrack3438