It is no secret that Jamaicans love to run fast. Rarely can one be found that loves to run long. They are like cheetahs, not camels.

Therefore, when a youngster comes along who has the talent and drive to run the longer distances, track fans immediately begin to salivate. In the recent past we have seen the emergence of Kemoy Campbell and Natoya Goule. However, few, if any, have been able to excite like diamond in the rough, Simoya Campbell of Spaulding High School located in the rugged hills of Manchester.

The sleek and smooth runner, who hails from the same hills which runs between Trelawny and St Ann and produced the renowned Turner sisters, broke on the scene a couple of years ago after toiling for years trying to be the next Shelly-Ann Fraser. Good sense prevailed when her new coach saw that this girl could fly, if given the right length of ground to take off.

“I looked at her and saw the body structure is not that of a sprinter. We made the change and the rest is history,” declared young coach Megan Wilson-Copeland.

“It is easy coaching her. She follows instructions (regarding) her running and training. (She is) very talented and dedicated, and the results have improved every year,” Said Wilson-Copeland.

This season, Campbell has been spectacular — 2:03 over 800m and 4:32 over 1,500m, winning both events at Girls Champs and the Carifta Games in Bermuda.

Apart from the Carifta Games trials where she was pushed by the equally talented Desreen Montaque of Edwin Allen, every single race was won with consummate ease. It boggles the mind what she could do in a tough and competitive training atmosphere.

“Training has been very hectic,” Campbell offered on Friday. “I did something at the World Youth (Championships) last year and I don’t intend to go and do it again. I am using every mistake I make to motivate me so that I can go to the World Juniors and make my country proud,” she said.

The Burger King-assisted athlete said she went out too fast and couldn’t find the energy to complete an effective second lap. “The first 200m were too fast,” she lamented. “I tried to make up for it but couldn’t. Now we are doing enough work so that I will be able to carry a good pace all the way.”

“All of us have two feet, so I have been told,” she quipped, after being reminded of the strength of the Africans. “I am never afraid of anyone.”

Campbell, who ran with the senior women at the recent JN Jamaica International Invitational, said that the experience was rewarding. “Running with the women at that meet was great,” she said. “It was a very good experience. It taught me that I should not give up.”

She said the older runners were very kind to her. “They congratulated me and told me to continue running the 1500m as it will help me get stronger in the 800m. I was very proud of myself. It was so different. I knew they have more experience so I decided to run my own race.”

Though winning all her individual races with ease, Campbell has not been able to repeat the 2:03 done in early March. “Maybe the reason I have not been able to go that fast is the work that I am now doing,” she admitted. “I plan to run that time at the trials (National Championships) though,” she added.

Campbell admitted that she had to move away from the wrong crowd to achieve her goal. “I was a hot girl who never thought about running. I did not train hard and didn’t expect much. Now it is so different. Representing Spaulding High is a dream come true for me. This is the school that I have always wanted to come to. And to be the only girl to go to ‘Champs’ and bring back a medal in the history of the school, that makes me feel really good.”

Spaulding High principal, George Henry sums up the experience quite well: “Simoya is the best thing to ever happen to this school. Being the only girl ever to win a gold medal at ‘Champs’ makes her a pearl among the other students.”

Campbell, meanwhile, said while Jamaica has not stood out over the distances, she is confident that the day will come when the endurance athletes will show the world “that we can do much more than the sprints”.

The team will get together after the CXC results are published to determine the direction in which the budding star will go. It won’t be long before Kemoy and Natoya get good company. After all, more success will come with hunting in a pack.