REBEKAH LESKO

Amanda Banks

“I just love running.”

It’s as simple as that for Huskies veteran middle-distance runner Amanda Banks, who will travel with the Dogs track and field squad to the national championships in Edmonton March 7-9.

Her impressive showing at the Canada West track and field championships Feb. 22 and 23 was highlighted by a gold and a silver medal in the 1000- and 4×800-metre relay races, respectively. The medals add to an already impressive university track record, including conference all-star mentions in each of her first three seasons and an array of medals.

Now Banks hopes to carry that momentum to the national meet, where she will compete in four events — the 600- and 1000-metre individual races and the 4×400- and 4×800-metre relays.

Banks says that while preparing for team races isn’t the same as preparing for individual races, she enjoys both events. She added that the group dynamic is a great motivator.

She even credits her teammates for helping her excel in solo events.

“Everyone thinks of track as an individual thing,” she said, “but we push one another all the time and I couldn’t do it without my team.”

Hailing from the small town of Kyle, Sask., Banks says her life revolved around sports when she was growing up.

“I always loved to run. I did cross-country and track in high school, but being from a small town, track wasn’t the main event you would do,” Banks said, explaining that she also competed in volleyball, basketball and badminton.

“Then we had a coach that came and she used to be with the Huskies, actually on the track team,” Banks said. “She got us more interested in track and told me to pursue it in university.”

That former coach, Toni Bochek, inspired Banks and ignited her passion for running — though Banks is quick to point out that she was also highly influenced by her parents, who were both proponents of track and field.

Her cousin, Karla Gabruch, also competes in throwing events for the Huskies.

Currently in her fourth year of business, Banks is majoring in accounting. She keeps herself busy between school and training by playing the different sports she grew up loving, hanging out with her track teammates and cheering on the other Huskies sports teams.

In preparation for a race, she’s not one for superstitions, though she does like to stick to the same routine. Keeping focused with music and both mental and physical preparation, Banks warms up with 45 minutes of jogging and stretching.

“Then I’ll go and run as hard as I can” in the race, Banks said.

This type of all-out attitude is the driving force for an athlete looking to bring home some hardware from the Canadian university sport national championships.

—
Photo: Jordan Dumba