Talking Track with Thomas Burns
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Talking Track is series that features current members of the Miami track and field program, while taking a deeper look into what makes their experiences special.
In this edition of Talking Track, we get to know freshman Thomas Burns. The Burns name has been around the Coral Gables campus back when Thomas’s older brother Artie Burns (2013-15) dominated both the football field and the track. This week, we learn about the Burns legacy and what Thomas thinks of adding to the Burns legacy.
Q&A:
Q: Why did you choose Miami?
A: Miami is home. This is where I felt the most comfortable and I know a lot of people around campus, so I knew it wouldn’t be hard to adjust.
Q: Why was it important to be close to home?
A: I always thought if you go far away, it would be hard to adjust.
Q: How much did Artie’s time at Miami influence you to coming here?
A: Not really a big part, but he really didn’t care where I went. He wanted me to pick what was going to be best for me and wanted me to choose that for myself. He stuck by my side.
Q: Does your brother give you advice during the season?
A: He’s been giving me plenty of advice about the races I’ve been running and what I do or have done wrong, things like that. He tells me how to do it in practice and how to fix that, so it’s cool to have that.
Q: What does it mean to you add to the Burns legacy?
A: It means a lot to me. He had his success in football and I’m trying to make a different legacy in track. I’m following his footsteps, but not in the same sport. It’s exciting to have this history here with him, but I have big expectations for myself, but other people have even higher expectations for me. They expect me to do greater things than I expect, but it means a lot that they think I can do that.
Q: What did it mean to break Miami’s 400m hurdles record?
A: I didn’t know until I saw it on Instagram, but it means a lot. I always tried to break every record my brother had in high school and now I’m trying to do the same thing in college. Everything he did, I want to wipe his name off the board and put my name up there.
Artie Burns sets American junior record in 60m hurdles
Q: What was the transition from high school to your indoor season like?
I think it went horribly, but people tell me it was pretty good for my first time ever doing indoor. For me, my expectations for myself were higher and I think I could’ve done more.
Q: What are your expectations for the rest of outdoor season?
Those are very high, too. For outdoor and the 400 hurdles, I’m trying to run at least a 48 in the 400 hurdles by the time Nationals come. I want to at least make it to Nationals, actually make top three at Nationals.
Q: What’s your favorite outdoor event?
A: Definitely the 4x400m relay. That’s the most exciting race I’ve ever ran. That’s my favorite event. That has the most exciting event compared to any other event from the crowd and your teammates.
Q: What are your goals for the final regular season meet of the season?
At Tom Jones, I want to break 50 [seconds] in the 400 hurdles. I want to run 49 in the 400 hurdles. I need to do that before ACCs.
Q: What’s your mindset like before ACCs?
A: Win. I want to run 49 at ACCs, too.
Q: What were the men’s team goals heading into the season?
A: Now, since we’re smaller, we just want to win our individual events right now. Coming into the season, we had big expectations from everyone like the sprinters all the way to distance. We’ve just been feeding off each other’s energy throughout the season.
