ROCHESTER — The night before his big race at the Empire State Games, Gered Burns moved out of his dorm room.

Burns, a Guilderland High School graduate, won the gold medal in the 800-meter race for the second year in a row. This year, he ran 1:54.60 to win the race, not one of his best times.
"I did horribly," Burns said after the race on Saturday. "My dorm room was like 90 degrees. A couple of nights ago, I got like one hour of sleep. Last night, I got five or six. I grabbed my blanket and pillow and went into the lobby which had air-conditioning. It was the best sleep I got so far.
"But coming in today," Burns added, "I felt horrible. In the first 100 I wanted to get into the lead position and then kind of back off and keep pace."

Burns fell as far back as fifth in the race after the first 400-meter lap was completed. He slowly moved up to third 200 meters later and then finally kicked into the extra gear with less than 200 meters left.
"I fell back," Burns said. "And they never picked the pace back up and, after 600 meters, I picked it back up. I didn’t have enough energy to run a full 800. My plan worked out well."

Burns ran 1:59.66 to win his heat of the 800 meters on Thursday. It was the fourth fastest time of the two heats.
"I just wanted to finish in the top three in my heat and advance to the final," Burns said. "Then, during the race, I was thinking, ‘I’m the defending champion; I can’t lose in front of all these people."

Though the times Burns ran in the heat of late July were far from his best time of 1:47.97 he ran at an indoor meet last winter representing the University at Albany, he was happy to get the win.
"You just have to hope that your worst is still better than the other guys’ best race," Burns said.

Winning his second gold medal came after not doing well in his first games.
"I competed in the summer after my senior year," Burns said. "I took some time off and then I did the 400-meter hurdles and did horrible. Then I ran the 800, and finished second or third from last."

Burns had won the 800-meter state and Federation titles that year in both indoor and outdoor seasons.
"I have a competitive mentality," Burns said. "I try my hardest not to let anyone beat me."

Burns red-shirted from the University at Albany track team this past spring and ran in a few meets as an unaffiliated runner. He still practiced with the Albany team and said he was in the best shape of his life.
"I ran a couple of meets in the [New York] City," Burns said. "But my main focus was running at national championships in Indianapolis. It was going well and then, with 200 meters to go, I got tripped and that was the end of the season. The season I was training for the meet. That was a bummer."

Last winter, Burns finished fifth at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships and was named the University at Albany’s first All-American in track.

Burns will compete in outdoor track and cross-country next year at Albany and then get ready to try to further his running career.
"I want to sign a professional contract," Burns said. "I need something to support me as I go to big meets. I also want to run a 1:44 race. This year, in outdoor, I want to be down to 1:45."

He also has another bigger, long-term goal: The 2012 Olympics.
"Two thousand twelve is a big goal," Burns said. "I think I’m going to have a shot, a good chance if I stick with it."