If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, might well be a mantra Tamara Harris has taken to heart.
The 23-year-old New Westminster middle distance runner is having a breakout sophomore season at the University of British Columbia and should be in the hunt for a medal in the women’s 800 metres when she competes at the NAIA national outdoor track and field championships in two week’s time.
But it wasn’t always that way for the New Westminster Secondary School grad.
“I just thought I was pretty average. I didn’t know how far I would be going,” said Harris about her high school years.
She competed in the 400m hurdles at the provincial high school championships and was a quarter-miler at Douglas College, training mostly on her own in her first two years of post secondary.
But that all changed when she transferred to UBC last year.
UBC head coach Marek Jedrzejek tried her out at 800m, and Harris responded with an NAIA national qualifying standard in her very first outing.
Although she failed to make the final of the metric half-mile at the 2013 nationals, the seed had been sown, said Harris.
“Last year was the start,” said the New West Spartans club runner. “It was just consistent training and having a great group of girls I train with. I was just more focused, and I wanted to do well.”
In just her second season with the Thunderbirds, Harris shaved a second off her outdoor 400m personal best and nearly three seconds off her PB at 800m.
“She’s in a very competitive group,” Jedrzejek said of her UBC training partners.
“She’s such a hard worker and a fighter. … It’s about learning from past experiences.”
At the recent UBC/SFU Achilles Cup meet, Harris kept within striking distance of frontrunner Sarah Sawatzky, before catching the Clan ace at the last turn and then outkicking her in a foot race down the straightaway to win by one-tenth of a second in the race to the wire in the women’s 800m.
“She’s still learning, but now it’s in her experience arsenal,” Jedrzejek said of Harris’ tactical win over the SFU star. “She’s getting better and better every week. I wouldn’t be surprised if, by the end of the season, she’s like 2:07/2:08. She’s capable to do it.”
This weekend, Harris will travel to Seattle for some speed work in the 400m at the Ken Shannon Invitational meet.
Then it’s on to the small college nationals in two week’s time to defend UBC’s gold medal in the women’s 4x800m relay and a goal of a 800m final.
“This year, every race has been a PB,” Harris said.
Harris went to the nationals last season and came away with gold in the relay, but this time, anything less than a top-eight finish in her individual event at the NAIA championships later this month would be considered a disappointment.
“This year, I’m looking to qualify for the final. That’s my goal,” she said.
Jedrzejek is expecting her to finish as high as third place overall at the nationals, and that’s all right with Harris.
“I want to keep improving my times,” said the sophomore arts major. “I’ve been running all my life and always enjoyed it. I think that’s what it comes down to.”
