Kathryn Bertine is a writer, athlete, activist and documentary filmmaker. On the bike, she’s a 3x Caribbean Champion, 6x national champion of St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN) and former professional cyclist from 2012-2017. Bertine raced her final season with 2016 UCI World Tour Team Cylance Pro Cycling. She previously raced for the U.S.-based BWM/HappyToothDental (2015), the U.K.'s Wiggle-Honda (2014), and U.S. Team Colavita/Fine Cooking (2012 & 2013). As a dual citizen, she also raced for the St. Kitts and Nevis National Team for 9 years. Bertine has garnered two top 10 and six top 20 UCI finishes, and has competed at eight world championships. While she retired from professional racing in 2017, Bertine remains active in both cycling and equality activism. A native of Bronxville, NY she lives and trains in Tucson, AZ. She holds a BA from Colgate University and an MFA from the University of Arizona.
Athletics have been a constant in Bertine’s life since childhood. She is a former Division I rower for Colgate University, and a professional figure skater with Ice Capades, Hollywood on Ice, and Holiday on Ice. In grad school she hung up the skates and joined the local triathlon club. In 2005, she turned professional, racing both ITU and Ironman distances.
In 2007 she segued from triathlon into road cycling. In 2012, she signed her first professional cycling contract at the age of 36. She’s no longer racing, but still out there riding. Check the bike lanes… and twitter @kathrynbertine @homestretchfdn @halftheroad @letourentier
The detailed journeys of her athletic career are found in her books, under the tab Author.
Bertine's first nonfiction book was published by Little, Brown in 2003. All The Sundays Yet to Come tells the story of her days as a professional figure skater and her early years in amateur sports. It was reviewed positively in Entertainment Weekly and People Magazine.
In 2010, her second memoir As Good As Gold was published by ESPN Books, after a two year sports journalism column on ESPN.com entitled So You Wanna Be an Olympian? People seemed to enjoy it, though there were few reviews issued as Bertine was the last author to pass through ESPN’s book department before it closed its doors in 2010. In 2011, Bertine served as the Senior Editor for espnW and penned the Riding with the Pros column for two years. Then she had this crazy idea to write/make a documentary film Half The Road (See filmmaker). Between 2009 and 2014, Bertine penned and essay collection about the pro cycling life, which became book #3…
In 2014 The Road Less Taken was published by Triumph Books. In 2017, her nonprofit, Homestretch Foundation, published a unique cookbook featuring the recipes of resident-athletes staying at Homestretch. Kathryn served as editor of the cookbook, and has a recipe in there too! She considers “Fresh from the Homestretch” her “third-and-a-half” book.
Her 4th book, STAND, is a memoir/manual about Bertine’s journey of activism, and what really happens when we stand up and fight for change. Join our mailing list to hear news on STAND or any future books. Order STAND and/or buy copies of her books here. Thanks for your support! Follow KB on Twitter & Insta via @kathrynbertine / @kathryn_bertine @halftheroad @letourentier @homestretchfoundation and on Facebook
Order the hardcover book here | Order the E-book here
In 2017, Homestretch Foundation opened its doors to provide free housing for female pro cyclists struggling with the gender pay gap. In the first ten months, we assisted 24 athletes from 9 countries in 5 disciplines of professional cycling. While the athletes stayed at the Homestretch, we noticed something unique: These athletes cooked, prepared and shared incredible meals that fueled their athletic goals, tasted great and were simple to make. Which brought together this collection of recipes! Fresh from the Homestretch is the first cookbook to compile recipes from world class athletes, and we're proud to share this culinary collection of easy & delicious recipes for people on the go. Here's the cherry on top: All proceeds from this cookbook go to Homestretch Foundation®, our nonprofit based in Tucson, Arizona. Cookbook can be purchased here via Amazon: Fresh from the Homestretch
In addition to Half the Road’s success as a documentary film on gender inequity in cycling, Kathryn wore many hats of activism…
As an advocate for equality in women’s sports, Kathryn Bertine started the movement of Le Tour Entier in 2013 with fellow pro cyclists Emma Pooley, Marianne Vos & Ironman triathlete Chrissie Wellington in an effort to bring parity to women’s professional road cycling, starting with the Tour de France. The project was a labor of love for five years, and finally came together in 2014 after joining forces with the incredible, talented aforementioned world champions. Teamwork made it happen, and on July 27, 2014 the pro women of road cycling raced on the Champs-Elysees two hours before the men’s Tour de France concluded their final stage.
Terrific articles from the NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and the WASHINGTON POST highlight our historic day. Click here to see Kathryn’s video interviews with NBC Universal and InCycle You can also follow Le Tour Entier on Twitter @letourentier
In 2015, Kathryn co-founded RVA Hosts, an organization in Richmond, Virginia that offered host housing at UCI World Championships to qualified athletes from underfunded nations.
In 2017, Kathryn founded the Homestretch Foundation, which assists female professional athletes with low-income salaries. Check out the Homestretch Foundation on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook, too! @homestretchfdn
Kathryn is available for public speaking events and loves to share her passion for activism and change. Please see the Public Speaking section for more information.
Standing up for equality at 2013 Road World Championships in Florence, Italy
Homestretch Foundation, founded in 2017 by Kathryn Bertine, is headquartered in Tucson, AZ. What we do:
* Assist low-income female professional athletes with free housing
* Eradicate salary inequity for women in all occupations
* Teach our members how to become activists to create change
* Provide opportunities for our members in their post-athletic careers
* Allow members/donors to book our facility & to impact equality
The New York Times wrote about our victory of La Course. Read the article by Juliet Macur here.
Our historic day! La Course by Tour de France took to the Champs-Elysees on July 27, 2014. Our group, Le Tour Entier, made it happen.
Kathryn Bertine's debut documentary film HALF THE ROAD: The passion, pitfalls & power of women’s professional cycling was released in January 2014. As the writer, director and co-producer, the goal of the film was to educate, inspire and change any negative misconceptions of the modern female athlete. The film—initially rejected by ESPN—went on the secure international distribution with First Run Features, Tugg Inc, screened in 16 countries and hundreds of theaters the first year, then released on DVD, iTunes, Vimeo and Amazon Prime. (We recommend Vimeo, which is viewable worldwide). Half the Road was selected by ten film festivals, of which it won three. To this day, Kathryn still receives royalty checks on a film that her boss at ESPN said no one would watch.
We pretty much needed a whole other website for this gargantuan undertaking of Half the Road. For more info, please visit www.halftheroad.com where you can see the trailer, rent/buy the film, check out our staff biographies and email us for screenings or other film related topics. Check us out on Twitter and Facebook, too: @halftheroad
If Kathryn ever recovers from making this film, she would very much like to make another one. In fact, she has a completed screenplay. Now we just need the magic film fairies to cast their spell on Hollywood. In the meantime, her agent is also pursuing slightly more human connections. Stay tuned.
HALF THE ROAD garnered 15 film festival entries and 4 wins, including Audience Choice Award at the Richmond International Film Festival. We couldn't be happier the world is embracing our film on equality, sports and progress. See our BOOKS AND FILM section to order or download a copy.
As a public speaker, Kathryn Bertine lectures at national functions, businesses, colleges and high schools. She shares her unique journey of equality and triumph in her speech, “The Power of No One.” (See below). She has served as the keynote speaker for the ADA (American Dietetic Association), Splunk (Data tech), Trek Bicycles and Canyon Ranch. She also speaks to many universities, including:
Colgate University
The College of William & Mary
University of Arizona
Denver University
Lycoming College
Skidmore College
UCLA
De Monfort University (UK)
Utilizing her background as a professional athlete, national champion, advocate for health and activist for equality, Bertine has three distinct lecture topics that encourage motivation, inspiration and interactive discussion for a wide variety of audiences:
The Power of “No One:” How we can all create change through benevolent disruption, visionary teamwork & questioning the obvious. Kathryn Bertine shares the story of how she was able to disrupt tradition, evoke change and leverage equality at the Tour de France through creativity, activism and teamwork. In this modern culture, we too often align platforms for societal change with famous individuals, gold medalists or millionaire spokespeople. Is it possible that “regular people” can create change in our fame-focused world? “Absolutely. I once heard this story about a washed-up, old pro athlete whose manager called her a “no one,” Bertine says. A couple years later, she and her friends made history when they lobbied the Tour de France to include women. “I was that "no one." If I can create change—without money, fame and power—so can we all. The power to change the world is in no one’s hands but our own. I look forward to sharing this journey of progress, change and equality with you.” (A lecture often booked by corporations, colleges, conferences, sports teams).
As Good As Gold: In 2006, ESPN gave Kathryn Bertine the journalism assignment of a lifetime. Could a 31-year-old, good-but-not-gifted athlete qualify for the Olympics in two years? What would it take to chase a dream of this magnitude? Based on the two-year ESPN.com column So You Wanna Be an Olympian and the subsequent book, AS GOOD AS GOLD, hear the unbelievable journey of what it really takes to follow a dream and why—no matter what—we must have the courage to try. (A lecture often booked by corporations, colleges, conferences, sports teams & wellness centers).
The Journey After: An inside look at the struggles of slimness and strength & life's (wonderful!) opportunities after recovering from an eating disorder.
Author, activist, filmmaker & professional athlete Kathryn Bertine suffered from an eating disorder in her early twenties. “Modern America sends some pretty confusing messages to its youth. Especially girls.,” Bertine says. “In a society that continues to emphasize “beauty” as thinness in women, we must continue to prove the opposite… that beauty is strength, and strength is found in all shapes and sizes.” Sharing her journey in sports as a three-time professional athlete (figure skating, triathlon & cycling), Bertine exposes the demons of body image and helps young women and men see themselves as the positive, dynamic, strong, smart people who they are.
She shares her life journey after recovering—thriving as an athlete, author & activist—proving that a full recovery and a fulfilling life IS possible. "So many men & women suffering from eating disorders can't imagine a day being free from it's grip," Bertine says. "I'm living proof of our ability to recover & our ability to thrive." (A lecture best geared toward high schools, collegiate, post-collegiate, sports teams, wellness centers & recovery clinic audiences).
To inquire about availability, pricing or to book an event, please contact my agent.
As a public speaker, Kathryn's story of social activism and the power of change has captured the attention of audiences all over the world. What does it really take to make a difference in our society? Knowing that we can. Kathryn tells audiences how, exactly, to do just that.
All kitted up for Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling. What it took to make the team? Well, that's part of the story...
As an athlete, activist, filmmaker and writer, Kathryn provides fee-based consultations in my areas of expertise. Topics of consultation include:
* How to launch successful campaigns for social activism.
* How to leverage fundraising for projects (films, books, sports teams)
* How the publishing/filmmaking/pro cycling industries work.
* How to "Change the System" and what to expect when you do.
* How to live a life less ordinary... and thrive.
For fees and scheduling, send an email and we'll discuss the specifics.
“Never let anyone tell you that your dreams are impossible.” -Kathryn Bertine
