‘He’s relentless.’ After 5 decades and 15 state titles, Mountain View coach retires
Hillary Holt spent the day after the 2010 Idaho state track and field meet sitting in her basement with the lights out, lamenting a close loss in the 800 meters.
She was ready to give up running. Then came a knock at the door.
Despite the pouring rain, Mountain View coach Tracy Harris and his son insisted Holt go for a run with them.
“I don’t even remember how long we ran for, but I remember we aggressively ran in the torrential downpour, and we didn’t say a word. The three of us didn’t say a word. We just ran,” Holt said. “We just ran. We ran through the pouring rain, and when we got back, I was just like, ‘OK, you’re right. I’m being ridiculous about this. I love running.’ ”
Holt earned an athletic scholarship to the College of Idaho, where she went on to win 11 NAIA national championships between cross country and track and field.
It might not have happened if Harris hadn’t persuaded her to take a run on that soggy afternoon in May.
“He’s relentless about what he sees in people,” Holt said. “He will never let you give up on yourself. Ever.”
After five decades of coaching cross country and track in the Treasure Valley, Harris will retire as a coach and teacher at the end of the school year. He plans to move to Colorado, where he will be closer to his daughter and grandchildren.
For many of his athletes, it’s a day few ever expected to see.
“When he told me he was retiring, I was like, ‘I legitimately thought you were going to die on the track,’ ” Holt said. “Everybody has their time where it’s time to retire. You’ve done everything that you can. You’ve given every element of yourself that you can to it. But I was like, Tracy is never going to retire.”
Between cross country and track, Harris guided 15 teams to state championships, and countless more to individual state titles in the the two sports.
“I just loved it. I got addicted to it once I realized I could make an impact on the kids — no matter how fast or slow they were,” Harris said. “I knew I could have a big impact on them, not only from a running standpoint, but from a life standpoint. That really meant a lot to me, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do from here on out.”
Harris picked up running at the age of 14, and 51 years later, it’s still at the center of his life — a testament to his love for the sport and the athletes he’s coached over the years, some of whom went on to become coaches themselves.
“He was the first person that really instilled the love of running in me,” said Boise cross country coach Aaron Olswanger, who ran for Harris at Meridian in the late 1990s. “He just made it so relatable. He showed us that week after week you could improve and then really see the difference as you race and as you work out and how you feel about yourself. He just really instilled that in us as athletes.”
Harris ran track and cross country at Idaho State University, becoming a four-time national qualifier between cross country and indoor track. At the time of his graduation, he owned four school records and later ran professionally, receiving sponsorships from Brooks and Reebok.
Harris coached for three years at Boise State under Hall of Famer Ed Jacoby, but he found his true calling from a chance meeting at a gas station.
Then-Meridian coach Greg Gardner recognized Harris from his Idaho State running days while he was filling up his car with gas. Gardner asked if Harris would like to help him coach the Warriors.
“I don’t know if you call it right place at the right time, but I was just lucky to be filling up my gas that day,” Harris said. “Things clicked after that.”
Harris’ high school coaching career began with the 1991-92 school year at Meridian. He assumed the head coaching position for the Warriors’ cross country team in 1997 and then took on the same role when Mountain View opened its doors in 2003. He coached distance runners in track for most of his career, but took on head coaching duties for the Mavericks from 2013 through 2018.
His athletes came to expect weekly motivational handouts. And every season had a theme. One of his most beloved sayings over the years — remain curious — inspired his runners to begin giving him Curious George memorabilia.
“You can just see his passion and love for the sport,” said 2016 Mountain View graduate Adrian Jones, who went on to become a two-time WAC champion in the steeplechase at Utah Valley.
“I know a lot of coaches possess that quality, but his was just different. If you were the fastest person or if you were a person that was just there to hang out with friends, Tracy really showed that he cared about every single one of his athletes.”
