The Courage to Tri: Kat Gurd
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Kat Gurd never considered herself an athlete. “Growing up I never was really into any kind of sport. I had one season where I signed up for recreational softball because my friend wanted to do it, and I said nope that’s not for me! “
“I was never engaged in anything and I had weight struggles my whole life” she adds. Nothing ever got her attention as far as sports or exercise. As Kat got older, post college she started going to the gym in an attempt to lose weight but it was never “fun” to her. The purpose of exercise for her was to meet the goal of controlling calories and weight.
All that changed the day Kat heard a commercial on the radio for an ovarian cancer fundraising ride. “When I got into this whole world I had lost an aunt to ovarian cancer. She was diagnosed when she was 35 and died 16 years later. When she died I was about 35. I was about the age she was when she was diagnosed” explains Kat.
Kat’s first triathlon
The fundraising ride was essentially a virtual training program which culminated in a six hour indoor ride to raise funds for ovarian cancer. She went through the six weeks of training and completed the event. But then she found that she wanted more. “I found a side of me that I didn’t know I had and it became a process of breaking my own mental boundaries about what I thought I could do.” That ride led to a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and now a full marathon and IRONMAN race.
Since then, Kat has completed three 70.3s, three marathons (one while 21 weeks pregnant), and one full Ironman. Today, Kat’s a mother to the best mini-sherpas 3 year old Hailey and 1 year old Henry. Her latest finish lines include the Publix Georgia Marathon in March and Ironman Canada 70.3 in July.
When asked what advice she would give to other women who are considered a sprint tri, Kat has this advice. “A sprint triathlon is approachable for pretty much anyone. Then after that, I thought I wonder if I can do a half ironman. It’s just about pushing your boundaries a little further”
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”2409″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Meet the women of Courage to Tri!” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fevents%2F184646172402414%2F||target:%20_blank|”][vc_basic_grid post_type=”employees” max_items=”2″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1533738741213-ca1e8d81-a1b3-7″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
