Insatgram

Kris Durr Running for WSU

There has been a saddening death in the Maple Valley community. Kris Orlando Durr a well known and respected man not only the greater track and field community, but to the Tahoma and Kent School Districts, where he  coached track. Durr was an accomplished athlete from Washington State University who holds many of their still standing records including the 400m, 400m relay, 1600m relay, and distance medley relay. Despite being a greatly accomplished runner, Durr found both joy and great accomplishment in coaching high school athletes. Even through many health tribulations in his coaching career, Durr showed up to as many practices and meets as he could for his athletes, where he had such an enthusiastic attitude the whole time. There are many people that know and look up to Durr, whether that be from the track and field community, the many people he has coached, or his friends, family, and athletes. To all, he is a “Loving husband, devoted father, record setting athlete, dedicated coach, and steadfast friend” (Kris Durr’s obituary).

Rebekah Young, a teacher and track and field coach for Tahoma High School, and one of Durr’s athletes, Stella Barry, have taken a moment to recognise both Durr’s accomplishments in life and appreciate the many things he has done for their lives and for every person he met. 

Barry remarked, “His death really hit me and was heartbreaking to hear. I think the impact he has left on so many people and athletes, including me, proved his large, positive impact in his life which should be celebrated. I think more people can learn to show compassion and belief in others like Coach Durr has. He was an incredible mentor, athlete, and person that I’m so grateful to have met in my life, and his advice will stick with me throughout.”

Rebekah Young met Durr in the beginning of the 2023 track and field outdoor season where they spent the season coaching alongside one another. “He was one of the sprint coaches that I worked with during the season.” Throughout the season Young explained that she was able to get to know Durr pretty well and vice versa. 

“He treated me very respectfully. My background in track and field is distance, so when I was asked to coach at Tahoma for sprinting, it’s not an area of expertise for me and it’s not something I feel super confident in coaching. And a lot of times when you work with other coaches they can kind of have more of a level up on you and make you feel like you’re not as good, and I never once experienced that working with Kris. He was so supportive of me and  respected me. And especially being a female coach, a lot of times, that respect is not always there from my experience. So to work with someone who had a lot of knowledge in the sport, and who was respected in the community, for him to really want to work with me and understood my perspective, it was a breath of fresh air.” 

The dedication when coaching his athletes is something that Young was really able to touch on. When asked about his accomplishments that had an impact on her personally, Young described Durr as humble, being a great runner and still giving back to his own athletes. 

“He was just a decorated track athlete. And he was just so successful. And I think his passion for track and field, this was someone that ran and had a lot of records at Washington State,  and I think being able to transfer that knowledge to high school students and the students he coached, I think someone coming from that caliber, and still giving back to the community I would say definitely has a huge impact.” 

“Kris was just a really inspiring person and I only knew him for a short period of time, I wish I could have known him  longer.”

Stella Barry, a student at Tahoma High School who ran track during the 2022 season, thought of Coach Durr as “an incredible mentor, athlete, and person”.  Since her freshman year of high school, Durr had left an unforgettable impression on her mind and heart. 

When Barry reminisced on her moments with Coach Durr before he passed, she mentioned, “My most memorable moment with him was after a big race. I had a worse time and placed low. Instead of giving me a “good job” he talked with me and motivated me. I was feeling really upset and he was able to focus my mind onto my strengths and showed he still had belief in my abilities even when I didn’t. It was most memorable because he easily could’ve paid no attention to my failure as I didn’t win any points for the team, but he didn’t and that moment has stuck with me.” 

Barry was then asked what she appreciated the most about her personality, in which she replied with, “I appreciate his positivity and kindness so much on the team. He was an incredible influence on the team by caring and helping each individual person on the team instead of focussing solely on the fastest athletes. He showed compassion and immense belief in each person which I think is very valuable and admirable.” 

Kris Durr was, and always will be an inspiration to the people that knew him. As a coach, athlete, father, husband, peer, and friend, he will be missed.