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Star of inspiring race video is champ Kampf

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Down but not out: Kampf hits the deck just before the start of the final lap in the 600m final

It has become one of most inspiring videos on the internet, and it stars KPMG Bermuda Front Street Mile three-times champion Heather Kampf.

She is seen taking the lead in an indoor 600m track final, but then trips and falls just before the start of the final lap.

Undaunted, she pushes herself up from the ground and carries on running. It appears to be a forlorn attempt to catch up with the others who have raced away, but what happens next made Heather Dorniden, as she was then known, a “YouTube sensation.”

She knew that even if she finished last she would score a point for her team It was the 2008 Big Ten indoor event in Minneapolis, and the teams were so evenly matched that every point counted.

Back on her feet she found herself more than 20 metres behind the other three athletes. As she gave chase she started to catch the third-placed runner and wondered if she might be able to beat them all. She kept pushing, and in the final metres drew level with her team-mate before inching to victory with her final stride of the race.

In her own words the performance made her an unexpected “YouTube sensation”. The video has since been used as an inspirational tool by individuals, groups, organisations and CEOs of companies.

It happened eight years ago, but even today Kampf is reminded about the race on a regular basis.

“At least once per week, I’d say, I hear from someone who has just realised that I’m the girl from that video, or I meet people who recognise me from it,” Kampf said in an interview with Big Ten Network last year.

Kampf said that at the time all she was thinking about was trying to secure points for her team, and had not realised how badly she had fallen until she later watched the video.

She said the race wasn’t just about not giving up, it was also about discovering what you are capable of when given the opportunity to rise above adversity.

Kampf won the Front Street Mile in 2013 and 2014. Last year she achieved a hat-trick as women’s winner in the elite mile, 10K and half-marathon. She will compete in tomorrow evening’s elite mile race, and is entered in Saturday’s 10K.

To watch the video of the 2008 Big Ten 600m final in Minneapolis, and read an interview with Kampf regarding the incident, use this link: http://tinyurl.com/z6hg5of

Back up: Kampf gives chase, but is a long way behind
Sweet victory: with her final stride of the race, Kampf wins
Winning ways: Kampf wins last year’s 10K