An active, sporty child, it wasn’t until Kate was in her late 20s that she discovered mountain biking and quickly fell in love with both the physical demands of the sport, but also the strong technical and strategic elements of it.
In 2010, Kate lined up at the start of her first race on her entry level bike, complete with bell and reflectors; it also happened to be a mixed pairs team in a 24 hour mountain bike.
Her team won their category and a love affair with 24 hour racing was born.
She’s now the 2x Australian Champion and has competed at 5 World Championships, finishing inside the top 5 in every year since 2014.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- the mind games and self-doubt that troubled her early career,
- her frustration at being ‘so close but so far’ after finishing in the Top 5 at the World Championships every year for the last 4 years,
- the constant struggle between worrying about things you can control vs things you can’t (and how when you wholeheartedly let go of concern over the things you can’t control, you can not only produce your best race but be deeply proud of it),
- why she relishes the challenge of proving people wrong,
- the power of choice and the importance of being aware of how you are directing your energy,
- her experience with the Imposter Complex, especially when wearing the green and gold Australian Champion jersey for the first time, and
- whether she has any sense of ‘unfinished business’ after her performance at the World Championship in Scotland in 2018.
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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