Wisconsin Badgers

Off the course Kate
Where is your favorite place to run in Madison? I love running on trails! I think it’s gorgeous and it makes me really happy —so really any and all trails are my favorite!
How would your teammates describe you? A generally happy person and someone that really likes talking (like a lot)!
How would you describe the team? An amazing group of women who are dedicated, kind, hardworking and driven to reach their goals while lifting others up to do the same!
My favorite thing about Wisconsin cross country is … my teammates (and the running of course!)
Which teammate have you learned the most from and what have you learned? Lexi Westley and Peyton Sippy! They have taught me a lot about the importance of taking care of myself and learning how to balance the stressors of being a college student-athlete and dealing with injuries while learning to enjoy the process! I am so thankful for them and all of their words of wisdom!
Do you have any pre-meet rituals? I like to do a lot of visualizing before races and positive self talk! It gets me excited to run fast and have fun!!
The best thing about the Zimmer Course is … it’s the home course of the best team in the country!!
What is the strangest thing that has happened to you in a race? I once got a bee caught up in my braid right before the race and everyone was panicking because no one could get it out and I was freaking out and it was just a really weird experience overall —would not recommend it! Technically that’s not during the race but it’s close enough so I’m counting it!!
What is your favorite cross country memory? One of my favorites was the day me and my older brother both achieved a big PR marker on the same day on my favorite course!!
When did you start running competitively? Fifth grade and I've been in love with the sport ever since!!
What do you love most about running? I love the feeling of constantly pushing my limits and redefining what is possible and seeing hard work come to fruition on the course! I also love love love the community it builds because you’re doing the workouts with a bunch of people who also know how hard it is and how much the stress is and it creates a really special connection! You also can’t forget about how amazing it feels to clear your head during a run and the unbeatable feeling after a quality workout or race!!
Why did you choose cross country and/or track? My older brother did it and he enjoyed it so he put it on my radar in the first place! But also, I was never someone to back down from a challenge and it sounded like hard work and I LOVED attacking challenges and proving to myself that I could do hard things.
If you could go on a run with any one person, who would it be? I really love running with my siblings to be totally honest! I just have wonderful conversations with them anytime we are able to go out together and it makes me really happy to spend time doing something that I love that’s fun and active with the people I care about too!
Post-college plans? I’m taking it one year at a time for right now! We’ll see where it all takes me!
What is your career goal? To be happy and fulfilled in whatever career I choose!
What causes do you care about? Advocating for mental health and for trying to end the stigma about talking about some of those harder topics. I think it’s something that as a society we’re getting better at but I think we still have a lot of room to grow and I care a lot about it!