Sabra Harvey, a Houston grandmother, broke the listed W60 world record in the 800 today at Oshkosh nationals — one of several WRs to go down. Her time of  2:34.66 smashes the 2:36.94 by Holland’s Gerda Van Kooten at 1999 Gateshead worlds. On the Age Graded Tables, her mark corresponds to an open (age 20-30) time of 2:00.16. Sabra isn’t a complete unknown. Last month she beat the American record of 2:40.91 at a Texas meet, clocking 2:40.56 in triple-digit temps. After the AR, I wrote Sabra, and she replied on July 8. Among other things, she said of the world record: “You always want to put forth 110%, so anything is possible. A little added adrenalin and who knows?” Well, now we know. USATF’s Jill Geer, who has a cousin in Oshkosh, wrote this report on Day 3.

Here’s my quickie Q&A with Sabra:

Masterstrack.com: You appear to be mainly a road runner. Did you know you were a stud at 800?

Sabra Harvey: No, not exactly “stud” but fast? Yes. Wanted to try the 800 last year at outdoor nationals, but opted out with doing 2 other distances.

Did you suspect being in shape for an American record?

Yes, under the right conditions.

The listed W60 world record is 2:36.94. Any chance at going for that?

You always want to put forth 110%, so anything is possible. A little added adrenalin and who knows?

What’s your running history? How long have you competed, and what did you do as a kid?

Began jogging nine years ago recreationally when we lived in the D.C. area. Kept trying to get faster times in 5K/10Ks, and they did come down, but not a lot. Kept doing those distances after moving to Houston and in 2004 went through the Power In Motion (PIM) adult running clinic here. Met some folks there in the running community, including UK coach/runner Karen Bowler. Began to train and compete seriously under her tutelage in 2005. My first foray into the world of T&F was last summer at the Texas Masters Championships in Dallas, followed by USATF Masters Outdoor T&F Championships in Spokane.

As a kid growing up in South Texas, I was a tomboy. No organized sports in either high school or college except a brief attempt at intramural basketball — growing up on a farm, just swam and rode horses.

What’s your personal history? Married, kids, grandkids, cats and dogs? Have a career? Live in Houston?

Married, two adult sons, granddaughter age 3, dog named Elsie. Stay-at-home mom until boys were grown; worked as administrative assistant/graphic designer 10+ years and still dabble in graphics as an independent contractor from home. Live in Houston.

Tell me all about the 800 at Coppell (where she first broke the AR). Did you get pacing help, splits? What were the weather, heat conditions like?

Temp was triple digits, around 101. Full sun, humid, ozone alert, no wind. Only woman running the event with 8 men I believe, open as well as masters. Waterfall start so went immediately to the inside and tried to find my own pace, settling in behind two men whose pace I thought might be what I wanted.

Turns out they were a bit slower than that, but each time I tried to ease to the outside and pass, one or the other picked up the pace and kept me on his shoulder to the outside. So basicaly ran the first lap outside. By the time we got to the bell lap, I was a bit frustrated and so at 300M said to myself “hammer down and if they can catch me, OK. If not, I’m gone!” –which is exactly what happened.

The kick worked and I flew around on the inside lane to the finish line. Don’t really know how close those two men were at the end. I just passed them and never looked back.

Think the first split was a bit over 80 seconds, not sure. Pretty sure I had a negative split. At any rate, it felt that way! Really wasn’t focused on setting a record; just wanted to get race experience under my belt.

Have you been approached for a Nike contract?

Are you kidding? No.

What’s your support system? Have a coach, training partners, fan club?

Ran basically on my own until hooking up with UK coach and runner Karen Bowler. She began coaching me in late 2005 and that continued in earnest for a little over 3 years. She is still my go-to resource and mentor, and I still consider her “coach” as well as friend. We get together regularly for CORE sessions and if our training schedules mesh, run together.

Mostly train on my own now except for the very occasional run with club buddies. Fan club is my family — husband here, sons in Dallas and Colorado; extended family across the country — and friends in the Houston running community. Several runners in the Houston Area Road Runners Association were very helpful getting USATF paperwork completed for the F60-64 AG 5K world record time I ran in April (pending).

Where else will you compete this summer? What are your new goals?

Track events at USATF Masters Outdoor T&F in Wisconsin.

Road events at National Senior Games in California.

Goal remains to see how fast I can run — push the limit wherever it takes me. Go some slightly longer road distances and compete in cross country beyond the local level.

What does setting an American record at 60 mean to you? 

Many things are possible, even at 60 and beyond! Don’t put limits on your expectations to succeed.