To be eligible to compete in lightweight events a female rower must keep her weight under 59kg.
Strack has the metabolism that allows her to maintain her weight at around 57-58kg.
"It is not a problem for me," Strack told the Otago Daily Times from Christchurch yesterday.
"I can eat a lot more than other lightweight rowers and still maintain my weight."
Strack knows the importance of sound nutrition for a top sportswoman and tries to have a good balance of carbohydrates and proteins.
"My favourite food is a roast," she said.
"But I don't eat any special foods."
Strack (20) was studying art at Canterbury University last year, but switched to a diploma of sports massage to fit in with her rowing.
"I decided to study something that would be good for my sport," she said.
"I'm learning a lot about the body and how it works."
Strack grew up in Dunedin but must train and live in Christchurch to be part of the Southern Regional Performance Centre to advance in rowing.
But she still wears the North End club colours at regattas.
Her coach in Christchurch is Gary Hay and her strength coach is Greg Thompson.
"I have the benefit of having access to a wide range of coaches at the Academy of Sport at Queen Elizabeth II Park," she said.
Her aim this year is to win the premier lightweight single sculls at the New Zealand championships on Lake Karapiro next month.
She is also contesting the lightweight double sculls with Kate French, of the Waihopai Club, in Southland.
Longer term, her target is to make the New Zealand under-23 team for the world championships in Belarus in July.
Strack improved her ergometer time by 6sec to 7min 13sec on the 2km course this season to qualify for a national trial.
This is Strack's second year at the performance centre in Christchurch and she has already had good results.
Last year Strack was a member of the Southern Regional Performance Centre crew that won a bronze medal in the women's premier lightweight double sculls at the New Zealand championships on Lake Ruataniwha.
She also trained with the New Zealand elite crews on Lake Karapiro as she prepared to represent the New Zealand under-21 team at the Rusty Robertson Trophy competition against Australian state teams on the 2000 Olympic Games course at Penrith, near Sydney.
That was a successful venture for Strack who came home with gold medals in the lightweight double sculls and the heavyweight quadruple sculls.
Strack started rowing when she was a pupil at St Hildas Collegiate and made a significant advance in her career when she finished runner-up in the senior girls single sculls at the Maadi Cup regatta on Lake Karapiro in 2007.
She was then selected for the New Zealand Youth Cup team that won the Rusty Robertson Trophy at the Nagambie Lakes in Victoria.
She won a gold medal in the eight.
Strack has the 2012 Olympic Games firmly in her sights, and is training up to five hours a day to achieve her goal.
Like any elite sportswoman Strack does not have much free time and tries to make the most of her special spare moments.
"I like to hang out with my friends and flatmates and I make sure I keep in touch with my school friends and the girls I have grown up with."
