The 27-year-old runner said he would not have made the journey from Launceston to London without the support and guidance of his long-time mentor, who died two years ago.

“He'd be very proud and it would've been great if he was still here to experience it,” Harris told The Examiner this week.

“It was the years of guidance and support from him that taught me much of what I need to be able to do in order to be successful. 

“I feel like I'm a very resilient athlete due to his coaching and have many strong areas that I can thank him for developing from when I was just a 14-year-old kid with not much idea about running.

“I definitely have him to thank for being able to experience this opportunity, along with my family and friends. The whole support from the Launceston and Tasmanian community has been excellent and I'm proud to be able to reach my goals while being based in Tassie.”

When the 61-year-old father-of-four and grandfather-of-seven lost his fight with cancer in September 2015, Harris began coaching himself, building on the foundations Willis had put in place.

After numerous state titles and national bronze medals over 3000m and in both half and full marathon, the Kings Meadows High School maths teacher calculated that marathon was his best distance.

Named among Australia’s record world champs team of 62, on Thursday he traveled from an altitude camp in St. Moritz, Switzerland, to London where he collected his national uniform and joined fellow Tasmanians Stewart McSweyn (steeplechase), Hamish Peacock (javelin) and fellow marathoner Milly Clark.

“I'm so happy for Stewy. I was nervously watching the initial 5000m where he got knocked from the top three, which would've been extremely tough. I'm so glad he got an opportunity as part of the roll down list and I can't wait to experience our first world champs together.

“It will also be great to catch up and cheer on Hamish and Milly in their events. I'm really excited that my event is on early on in the program so that I can soak it all in and watch my 61 teammates, along with many star athletes from around the world.”

Harris has specific goals he wants to achieve in his event.

“I'm hoping to run a race that I'm proud of and to enjoy the whole experience of competing at the highest level. 

“There are 108 people in my race and on best times from the qualifying period I'm ranked about 79th and on lifetime bests I'm 85th. I'll be looking to finish in a position significantly higher than that though.

“I'm not too worried about times which is a nice feeling. The race is during the middle of the day so there's a chance it'll be the hottest marathon I've competed in, which could potentially impact the times. If conditions are favorable, I'd love to run a PB.

“It's a four-lap course which I think I'll enjoy. I'll be able to see my supporters each lap which will be great. I'll be trying to soak up the moment on the start line, while also focusing on a few key cues that will allow me to run at my best.”