A long-term passion for sport began for Tarli Black when she was just six years old, after she tagged along to her sister’s after school athletics.
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From that point on, Tarli was hooked, committed to forging a career in the sport.
This month, making huge strides towards her dream, Tarli was named Myall Lakes Junior Sports Person of the Year.
“I compete in the 100 metre and 200 metre events, I used to do long jump as well but now my focus is on the running,” Tarli explained.
“Training for those is a lot of sprint work.
“I also do a lot of sand hills at the beach, which involves running up and down the dunes with a parachute attached to my body. It’s very hard,” she laughed.
Hard it may be, but the results are clear, as Tarli now holds six Manning zone records, one Hunter region record and one National record.
“I just like to run,” is her simple explanation for the years of dedication and rigorous training schedule.
“At the moment, I train five days a week, two of those days are down in Newcastle where my coach is based.
“It’s a big commitment but it fits in fine with school and the other things I do, and it’s definitely something I see myself doing for as long as I can.”
Recently, Tarli competed at National level and claimed bronze in the 100 and 200 metre events and gold in the 4x100 metre relay.
She also holds a number of zone and regional records at Little Athletics, along with many State medals and two country championship records, one record she has broken was set 40 years ago.
“It’s a good sport because I love running and I get to meet lots of new friends,” she said.
“Competitions are mostly in Sydney, sometimes in Newcastle, there’s a lot of travel but I like to have a change of scenery.”
Tarli received the title of Junior Sports Person of the Year after being selected among five finalists. She said the nomination was a big surprise.
“I didn’t know much about it before I was nominated, but it was nice to get it,” she said.
Currently in Year 6 at school, Tarli affirms with no hesitation her favourite subject is sport.
Alongside Athletics, she also excels in touch football and netball.
