Danaiza Burns says she has always been petite and a fast runner. The Hardaway High School athlete has demonstrated that her size and speed are the right combination to make big things happen when she hits the track. This season Burns broke the Hawks’ school record in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter events (That’s one mile and two miles, respectively.) and went one run better by breaking her own record in the 3200 a few days later. Not satisfied with her personal best in the 3200, Burns broke her own record for the second time during her last track meet in April.
What adds even more to the “wow factor” is that Burns is a 15-year-old freshman at Hardaway.
On March 9, Burns broke the school record in the 3200 with a time of 13:42.06 while at a track meet at Kinnett Stadium in Columbus. The previous school record had been set by Marena Prieto on April 22, 2010, with a time of 13:42.71. Six days later, Burns bested her own record for the 3200 with a time of 13:36.58 at another track meet at Kinnett.
In between those two record-breaking dates, Burns ran the 1600 at a local track meet, finishing with a time of 5:58.04. That was good enough to break another school record of 6:04.22, which was also set by Prieto on April 22, 2010.
Perhaps no one was more surprised by her record-breaking performance than Burns.
“I knew I had run a good race when I ran the 2-mile, but I didn’t realize I had broken the school record,” Burns said. “I wasn’t trying to do that. I just wanted to finish with a good time for me personally and for my team. When Coach told me later about the record, I was kind of shocked.”
Not finished with her record-breaking runs, Burns topped her time of 13:36.58 in the 3200 during her last track meet in April. She recorded a time of 13:06.68, setting another school record.
The 5-foot-4 athlete doesn’t keep up with her weight, but she thinks she weighs around 120 pounds. She says she got started running by chasing her younger sister around outside. When she got to Fort Middle School, Burns decided to give track and field a try because of her active nature.
“I felt like I needed to do something useful to burn off all this energy I have,” Burns said with a laugh.
She had a successful middle school experience running for the Patriots’ team and competing in the mile, 800-meter, and 4×400-meter relay events. When it came time to look for a high school, Burns discovered a YouTube video about the Hardaway Hawks’ track program. She had friends who were planning on attending HHS, so she chose to enroll in the fall of 2015.
Burns felt like she would have a chance somewhere down the line to be a part of the track teams at the high school but didn’t count on moving up so quickly. Her coach, Anthony Gibson, in his first year as head track coach at Hardaway, recognized Burns had potential.
“I knew she was going to be one of our top two distance runners, but I didn’t know she was going to break the school’s records in her events,” Gibson said.
The mile and two-mile runs are not the only events Burns participates in for Hardaway. She is also part of the 4×400-meter relay team. She usually runs fourth leg on the relay team but can run the third position if needed. She laughs at the notion of being the starting runner for the relay because she knows exactly where she is best suited to run.
“I am a distance runner,” Burns said. “I really do well with that, and starting out the first leg is just not me. I like the pressure of knowing I have to bring it all in at the end. It just works out better for my team (for me) to run three or four.”
Going forward, Burns isn’t necessarily trying to set a goal of breaking more, but she is wise enough to know her accomplishments thus far are an indication of what is possible. As a freshman, she is still working to understand her role with her team and the high school competition that is vastly more intense than anything she had previously experienced.
Gibson believes Burns will have some great days ahead simply because the young athlete already has an established competitive spirit, which is second only to her desire to succeed.
“She does not like to lose at all,” Gibson said. “Even in practice, she will not let someone jog or run in front of her because she wants to be the best. To sum it all up, her best strength is the will to win.”
Columbus Valley/June 2016
Danaiza Burns
Hardaway High School
Columbus, Georgia
Written and Photo By Beth Welch
Track Athlete Beats Own Record Twice During Season
