Gary Reed spent the weekend in Kamloops giving young athletes a crash course in middle distance running.
If he taught his students anything about the work ethic and dedication that made him one of the best middle-distance runners in the world, they got their money’s worth.

Reed, who now resides in Victoria, was back in Kamloops for the weekend, helping run the Future Stars Middle Distance Athletics Camp at Hillside Stadium. The long-time member of the Kamloops Track and Field Club and former Olympian helped teach 13- to 17-year-old runners about on-track strategy and training methods.

From his humble beginnings in Merritt, then Kamloops and later in Victoria, Reed became the best 800-metre runner Canada has produced, one who finished fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and second at the 2007 world championships in Osaka, Japan.

Now retired at the ripe age of 29, Reed is hoping to pass on some of his ambition and dedication to the next generation of Canadian athletes.

“I certainly wasn’t the most talented guy, but looking back . . . I think I just had a different mindset,” said Reed on Saturday, prior to a meet-and-greet with athletes at the Tournament Capital Centre.

“I had a different mindset . . . some guys were just training away, and I really, really thought somehow, some way, I’m going to the show and I’m going to be the best in the world.

“It was in my mind always.”

Reed officially announced his retirement in December, ending a highly successful career in which he competed at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Summer Games, and also at five world championships. He still holds the Canadian record in the 800m.

Now, he’s working in real estate for RE/MAX in Victoria, and doesn’t have any regrets about leaving track. He’s still quite active, doing all the things that training didn’t allow him to do over the previous decade — skiing, biking, soccer — but not a lot of running.

“I’m loving the transition. It’s been smooth, exciting,” he said. “I don’t miss track at all — I did what I had to do and I loved every minute of it, and now I’ve moved on.”

Reed was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1981. He and his mother, Mary, were living in Merritt in the mid-1990s when then-KTFC head coach Derek Evely convinced Gary to train in Kamloops.

By September 1998, Gary had convinced Mary to move to Kamloops so he could take his training a little more seriously.

In 2002, Reed changed from the 400m to the 800m, and also moved to Victoria to train under renowned middle-distance coach Wynn Gmitroski.

It was all because of Reed’s belief — the belief that he could be the best in the world, something that never wavered.

“I used to tell my mom all the time that I was going to go the Olympics — I was six!” he said. “I really was one of those athletes who would sit at home in Grade 8 and say, ‘I’m training for the Olympics.’ I really did think I can make it.

“I knew it would be tough, and I didn’t know how I was going to get there, but I thought I could do it.”
It may seem pretentious for a youngster to make a claim like ‘I’m training for the Olympics,’ but Reed saw no problem with it. He still doesn’t see a problem with it.

“It’s OK to believe in yourself and it’s OK to tell people you believe in yourself,” he said. “You’re not cocky or arrogant, you’re simply believing you’re capable of doing it. That’s something that should be voiced — I don’t think there’s any shame in that.”

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca